Apoptosis like symptoms associated with abortive infection of Mycobacterium smegmatis by mycobacteriophage D29.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacteriophages are phages that infect mycobacteria resulting in their killing. Although lysis is the primary mechanism by which mycobacteriophages cause cell death, others such as abortive infection may also be involved. We took recourse to perform immunofluorescence and electron microscopic studies using mycobacteriophage D29 infected Mycobacterium smegmatis cells to investigate this issue. We could observe the intricate details of the infection process using these techniques such as adsorption, the phage tail penetrating the thick mycolic acid layer, formation of membrane pores, membrane blebbing, and phage release. We observed a significant increase in DNA fragmentation and membrane depolarization using cell-biological techniques symptomatic of programmed cell death (PCD). As Toxin-

SUBMITTER: Calcuttawala F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9113562 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature