title: The mode of cell wall growth in selected archaea is similar to the general mode of cell wall growth in bacteria as revealed by fluorescent dye analysis.
abstract: The surfaces of 8 bacterial and 23 archaeal species, including many hyperthermophilic Archaea, could be stained using succinimidyl esters of fluorescent dyes. This allowed us for the first time to analyze the mode of cell wall growth in Archaea by subculturing stained cells. The data obtained show that incorporation of new cell wall material in Archaea follows the pattern observed for Bacteria: in the coccoid species Pyrococcus furiosus incorporation was in the region of septum formation while for the rod-shaped species Methanopyrus kandleri and Methanothermus sociabilis, a diffuse incorporation of cell wall material over the cell length was observed. Cell surface appendages like fimbriae/pili, fibers, or flagella were detectable by fluorescence staining only in a very few cases although their presence was proven by electron microscopy. Our data in addition prove that Alexa Fluor dyes can be used for in situ analyses at temperatures up to 100°C.
authors.affiliation: University of Regensburg, Institute for Microbiology and Archaea Centre, Universitätsstrasse 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany. reinhard.wirth@biologie.uni-regensburg.de
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wirth
authors.forename: Annett
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bellack
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bertl
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bilek
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Heimerl
authors.forename: Bastian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: Madeleine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leisner
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Probst
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rachel
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sarbu
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schopf
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wanner
mesh_terms: D001105:Archaea / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000378:metabolism; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D015388:Organelles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes