Abstract
Macrofibers in steady-state growth at one temperature were subjected to pulses of various durations at a temperature at which the opposite helix hand would form and then returned to the initial temperature. In an upshift pulse (20 to 48 degrees C), at least 3 min of incubation was required to induce a transient inversion that occurred later after return to 20 degrees C. Longer pulses resulted in shorter delays in onset of the transient inversion. This "memory" of a brief high-temperature pulse suggests that even a small amount of material can influence the twist of the entire macrofiber. Similar results were found for temperature downshift pulses corresponding to the opposite inversion. Adding chloramphenicol during the temperature pulse blocked the establishment of memory associated with the right-to-left inversion but not that associated with left-to-right inversion. In contrast, inhibiting peptidoglycan synthesis with D-cycloserine during the temperature pulse did not prevent establishment of memory. Inhibiting protein synthesis in mutants fixed as left-handed structures over the entire temperature range induced conversion to right-handedness but did not affect mutants fixed as right-handed structures. Adding protease to either live or formaldehyde-killed macrofibers always induced rotations of right-handed orientation. Steady-state growth in the presence of protease was found to shift the initial macrofiber twist towards the right-hand end of the twist spectrum. The phenomenon was observed in several mutants with different initial twists.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Favre D., Thwaites J. J., Mendelson N. H. Kinetic studies of temperature-induced helix hand inversion in Bacillus subtilis macrofibers. J Bacteriol. 1985 Dec;164(3):1136–1140. doi: 10.1128/jb.164.3.1136-1140.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fein J. E., Rogers H. J. Autolytic enzyme-deficient mutants of Bacillus subtilis 168. J Bacteriol. 1976 Sep;127(3):1427–1442. doi: 10.1128/jb.127.3.1427-1442.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mendelson N. H., Favre D., Thwaites J. J. Twisted states of Bacillus subtilis macrofibers reflect structural states of the cell wall. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Jun;81(11):3562–3566. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.11.3562. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mendelson N. H. Helical Bacillus subtilis macrofibers: morphogenesis of a bacterial multicellular macroorganism. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 May;75(5):2478–2482. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.5.2478. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pooley H. M. Turnover and spreading of old wall during surface growth of Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 1976 Mar;125(3):1127–1138. doi: 10.1128/jb.125.3.1127-1138.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Viret J. F., Rogers H. J., Karamata D. Morphological and cell wall alterations in thermosensitive DNA mutants of Bacillus subtilis. Ann Inst Pasteur Microbiol. 1985 Jan-Feb;136A(1):119–129. doi: 10.1016/s0769-2609(85)80032-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]