title: Nanomechanical properties of the sea-water bacterium Paracoccus seriniphilus--a scanning force microscopy approach.
abstract: The measurement of force-distance curves on a single bacterium provides a unique opportunity to detect properties such as the turgor pressure under various environmental conditions. Marine bacteria are very interesting candidates for the production of pharmaceuticals, but are only little studied so far. Therefore, the elastic behavior of Paracoccus seriniphilus, an enzyme producing marine organism, is presented in this study. After a careful evaluation of the optimal measurement conditions, the spring constant and the turgor pressure are determined as a function of ionic strength and pH. Whereas the ionic strength changes the turgor pressure passively, the results give a hint that the change to acidic pH increases the turgor pressure by an active mechanism. Furthermore, it could be shown, that P. seriniphilus has adhesive protrusions outside its cell wall.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Research Center OPTIMAS, University of Kaiserslautern, Erwin Schrödinger Strasse 56, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Neda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Davoudi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Research Center OPTIMAS, University of Kaiserslautern, Erwin Schrödinger Strasse 56, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Müller-Renno
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Research Center OPTIMAS, University of Kaiserslautern, Erwin Schrödinger Strasse 56, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ziegler
authors.affiliation: Institute for Measurement and Sensor Technology, University of Kaiserslautern, Gottlieb-Daimler-Strasse 46, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Indek
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Raid
authors.affiliation: Institute for Measurement and Sensor Technology, University of Kaiserslautern, Gottlieb-Daimler-Strasse 46, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seewig
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioprocess Engineering, University of Kaiserslautern, Gottlieb-Daimler-Strasse 46, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Christin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schlegel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioprocess Engineering, University of Kaiserslautern, Gottlieb-Daimler-Strasse 46, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muffler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioprocess Engineering, University of Kaiserslautern, Gottlieb-Daimler-Strasse 46, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ulber
mesh_terms: D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D004548:Elasticity; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010230:Paracoccus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology