Terminal organelle development in the cell wall-less bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

ABSTRACT: Mycoplasmas are cell wall-less bacteria considered among the smallest and simplest prokaryotes known, and yet several species including Mycoplasma pneumoniae have a remarkably complex cellular organization highlighted by the presence of a differentiated terminal organelle, a membrane-bound cell extension distinguished by an electron-dense core. Adhesin proteins localize specifically to the terminal organelle, which is also the leading end in gliding motility. Duplication of the terminal organelle is thought to precede cell division, but neither the mechanism of its duplication nor its role in this process is understood. Here we used fluorescent protein fusions and time-lapse digital imaging to study terminal organelle formation in detail in growing cultures of M. pneumoniae. Individual cel

SUBMITTER: Hasselbring BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1637607 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature