title: A minimized motile machinery for Mycoplasma genitalium.
abstract: The cell wall-less bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium uses specialized adhesins located at the terminal organelle to adhere to host cells and surfaces. The terminal organelle is a polar structure protruding from the cell body that is internally supported by a cytoskeleton and also has an important role in cell motility. We have engineered a M. genitalium null mutant for MG491 protein showing a massive downstream destabilization of proteins involved in the terminal organelle organization. This mutant strain exhibited striking similarities with the previously isolated MG_218 null mutant strain. Upon introduction of an extra copy of MG_318 gene in both strains, the amount of main adhesins P140 and P110 dramatically increased. These strains were characterized by microcinematography, epifluorescence microscopy and cryo-electron microcopy, revealing the presence of motile cells and filaments in the absence of many proteins considered essential for cell adhesion and motility. These results indicate that adhesin complexes play a major role in the motile machinery of M. genitalium and demonstrate that the rod element of the cytoskeleton core is not the molecular motor propelling mycoplasma cells. These strains containing a minimized motile machinery also provide a valuable cell model to investigate the adhesion and gliding properties of this human pathogen.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: García-Morales
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: González-González
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Querol
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jaume
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piñol
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D009154:Mutation; D045704:Mycoplasma genitalium / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins