Inactive “Ghost” Cells Do Not Affect Motility and Long-Range Electron Transport in Filamentous Cable Bacteria

IF 4 2区 生物学 Q2 MICROBIOLOGY
Jesper R. van Dijk, Jeanine S. Geelhoed, Nicole Geerlings, Jiji Alingapoyil Choyikutty, Henricus T. S. Boschker, Erik Verbruggen, Filip J. R. Meysman
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Abstract

Cable bacteria are multicellular filamentous microorganisms that perform electrogenic sulphur oxidation over centimetre-long distances. These filaments contain so-called “ghost cells”, which display a highly reduced cytoplasmic content and a lack of metabolic activity. However, the origin and abundance of these ghost cells are not well understood, raising questions about their formation and potential impact on the functioning of the entire filaments. Here, we quantified the abundance of ghost cells in cable bacteria via a targeted propidium iodide staining technique and investigated their morphology and possible origin. Microscopy revealed that ghost cells are present in filaments under in situ conditions, and hence, they are not an artefact from filament sampling. Interestingly, filaments containing ghost cells retained gliding motility, as well as the capacity for long-distance electron transport, thus suggesting that the functionality of the filament as a whole remains largely unaffected by the presence of these ghost cells. Noteworthy is the higher frequency of ghost cells near the ends of filaments, and within filament fragments retrieved from oxic environments. Our findings provide new insights into the adaptive strategies of filamentous bacteria, highlighting their ability to maintain functionality at the organism level despite the fact that some individual cells are no longer metabolically active.

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失活的“幽灵”细胞不影响丝状电缆细菌的运动和远程电子传递
电缆细菌是多细胞丝状微生物,在厘米长的距离上进行电致硫氧化。这些细丝含有所谓的“鬼细胞”,它们显示出高度减少的细胞质含量和缺乏代谢活性。然而,这些鬼细胞的起源和丰度尚不清楚,这就对它们的形成和对整个纤维功能的潜在影响提出了疑问。在这里,我们通过碘化丙啶染色技术定量了cable细菌中幽灵细胞的丰度,并研究了它们的形态和可能的起源。显微镜显示在原位条件下,鬼细胞存在于细丝中,因此,它们不是来自细丝取样的人工制品。有趣的是,含有幽灵细胞的细丝保留了滑动的运动性,以及远距离电子传输的能力,这表明细丝作为一个整体的功能在很大程度上没有受到这些幽灵细胞的影响。值得注意的是,鬼细胞在纤维末端附近的频率较高,并且在从氧气环境中回收的纤维碎片内。我们的发现为丝状细菌的适应策略提供了新的见解,强调了它们在生物体水平上维持功能的能力,尽管一些单个细胞不再具有代谢活性。
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来源期刊
Environmental microbiology
Environmental microbiology 环境科学-微生物学
CiteScore
9.90
自引率
3.90%
发文量
427
审稿时长
2.3 months
期刊介绍: Environmental Microbiology provides a high profile vehicle for publication of the most innovative, original and rigorous research in the field. The scope of the Journal encompasses the diversity of current research on microbial processes in the environment, microbial communities, interactions and evolution and includes, but is not limited to, the following: the structure, activities and communal behaviour of microbial communities microbial community genetics and evolutionary processes microbial symbioses, microbial interactions and interactions with plants, animals and abiotic factors microbes in the tree of life, microbial diversification and evolution population biology and clonal structure microbial metabolic and structural diversity microbial physiology, growth and survival microbes and surfaces, adhesion and biofouling responses to environmental signals and stress factors modelling and theory development pollution microbiology extremophiles and life in extreme and unusual little-explored habitats element cycles and biogeochemical processes, primary and secondary production microbes in a changing world, microbially-influenced global changes evolution and diversity of archaeal and bacterial viruses new technological developments in microbial ecology and evolution, in particular for the study of activities of microbial communities, non-culturable microorganisms and emerging pathogens
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