Cytoskeletal asymmetrical dumbbell structure of a gliding mycoplasma, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, revealed by negative-staining electron microscopy.

ABSTRACT: Several mycoplasma species feature a membrane protrusion at a cell pole, and unknown mechanisms provide gliding motility in the direction of the pole defined by the protrusion. Mycoplasma gallisepticum, an avian pathogen, is known to form a membrane protrusion composed of bleb and infrableb and to glide. Here, we analyzed the gliding motility of M. gallisepticum cells in detail. They glided in the direction of the bleb at an average speed of 0.4 microm/s and remained attached around the bleb to a glass surface, suggesting that the gliding mechanism is similar to that of a related species, Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Next, to elucidate the cytoskeletal structure of M. gallisepticum, we stripped the envelopes by treatment with Triton X-100 under various conditions and observed the remaining struc

SUBMITTER: Nakane D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2687163 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature