Movie S2 from Kudryashev et al., 2011
When I first saw the video, I thought that the spirochetes were simply getting tangled up and that it took several seconds for them to get untangled. However when the investigators examined the cultures by cryoelectron tomography (a type of electron microscopy), they saw that the Borrelia cells weren't merely tangled or stuck to each other. Their outer membranes were actually fused, sometimes so extensively that both cytoplasmic cylinders ended up in a single outer membrane sheath. Panel A below shows a cross-section of fused B. garinii cells. Panel B shows a 3-dimensional rendering of the the fused spirochetes from panel A. The two cytoplasmic cylinders (bright and dark magenta) are surrounded by a single outer membrane sheath. The flagellar filaments from both cells form a single bundle and are shown in yellow.
Figure 4A and 4B from Kudryashev et al., 2011 |
Assuming that this was not a preparation artifact, what could be the role of outer membrane fusion in the biology of Borrelia? The authors present two possibilities. First, Borrelia cells can share their outer membrane contents by fusing their outer membranes together. Sharing may be advantageous to Lyme Borrelia during transmission from the tick to the victim's skin, when the spirochetes are turning on genes encoding protective proteins such as OspC. One can imagine Borrelia cells sharing its protective surface proteins with others that have yet to express them so that a larger number of spirochetes can fend off host defenses and establish an infection. Another intriguing possibility is that DNA is exchanged between the two spirochetes. Out of the 110 pairs of fused Borrelia cells observed by cryoelectron tomography, the investigators found one pair whose inner membranes were also fused, providing a conduit (at least theoretically) for transfer of DNA. Cells in culture may not remain fused long enough to transfer DNA, but Lyme disease Borrelia lie dormant in the tick midgut for months, giving Borrelia cells lying next to each other plenty of time to exchange DNA, assuming that membrane fusion and DNA transfer can even occur in this setting.
The outer membrane of spirochetes is unique among diderm (double-membrane) bacteria because of its loose association with the underlying peptidoglycan layer. For this reason the outer membrane of all spirochetes, not just those of Borrelia, may be especially prone to fusing. This raises the possibility that the outer membranes of other spirochetes such as Leptospira and Treponema could also fuse.
Note: This work has also been described in the blog Small Things Considered.
Reference
1. Kudryashev M., Cyrklaff M., Alex B., Lemgruber L, Baumeister W, Wallich R, and Frischknecht F (May 2011). Evidence of direct cell-cell fusion in Borrelia by cryogenic electron tomography. Cellular Microbiology 13(5):731-741. DOI: 10.1111/j.1462-5822.2011.01571.x
The elegant imageswhich you demonstrate show
ReplyDeletebacterial conjugation. Conjugation between bacterial cells carries the sam implications as conjugal contact between male and female homosapiens, namely the establishment of a new life form. DNA is transmitted in the conjugation process. In microbial genetics , intraspecies conjugation and tranmsKingdom conjugation have been recorded. For example,on the Institut Pasteur Research in leptospira website, an image of conjugation between a leptospire and an E. Coli cell is clearly displayed ( SEM).
Horizontal DNA Transfer / Lateral DNA transfer
imploicatons are huge. The bottom line is that the DNA in your genome at the monment of death may not be the same as the DNA in your genome at the moment of your birth.
Please,for those who missed the lecture on HGT/LCT [for reasons unknown}, read the Monograph by Dr Frederick Bushman - Cold Spring Harbor Press - available thropugh Amazon,com or
FREE via your local library.
The implications of HGTG/LGT are absolutely huge!
Respectfully submitted,
Alan B. MacDonald MD
Feb 24,2012