Abstract
Spores of the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium novyi NT are able to germinate in and destroy hypoxic regions of tumors in experimental animals. Future progress in this area will benefit from a better understanding of the germination and outgrowth processes that are essential for the tumorilytic properties of these spores. Toward this end, we have used both transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to determine the structure of both dormant and germinating spores. We found that the spores are surrounded by an amorphous layer intertwined with honeycomb parasporal layers. Moreover, the spore coat layers had apparently self-assembled, and this assembly was likely to be governed by crystal growth principles. During germination and outgrowth, the honeycomb layers, as well as the underlying spore coat and undercoat layers, sequentially dissolved until the vegetative cell was released. In addition to their implications for understanding the biology of C. novyi NT, these studies document the presence of proteinaceous growth spirals in a biological organism.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 6457-6468 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of Bacteriology |
| Volume | 189 |
| Issue number | 17 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2007 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
- Immunology
Cite this
Spore coat architecture of Clostridium novyi NT spores. / Plomp, Marco; McCaffery, J. Michael; Cheong, Ian; Huang, Xin; Bettegowda, Chetan; Kinzler, Kenneth W; Zhou, Shibin; Vogelstein, Bert; Malkin, Alexander J.
In: Journal of Bacteriology, Vol. 189, No. 17, 09.2007, p. 6457-6468.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Spore coat architecture of Clostridium novyi NT spores
AU - Plomp, Marco
AU - McCaffery, J. Michael
AU - Cheong, Ian
AU - Huang, Xin
AU - Bettegowda, Chetan
AU - Kinzler, Kenneth W
AU - Zhou, Shibin
AU - Vogelstein, Bert
AU - Malkin, Alexander J.
PY - 2007/9
Y1 - 2007/9
N2 - Spores of the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium novyi NT are able to germinate in and destroy hypoxic regions of tumors in experimental animals. Future progress in this area will benefit from a better understanding of the germination and outgrowth processes that are essential for the tumorilytic properties of these spores. Toward this end, we have used both transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to determine the structure of both dormant and germinating spores. We found that the spores are surrounded by an amorphous layer intertwined with honeycomb parasporal layers. Moreover, the spore coat layers had apparently self-assembled, and this assembly was likely to be governed by crystal growth principles. During germination and outgrowth, the honeycomb layers, as well as the underlying spore coat and undercoat layers, sequentially dissolved until the vegetative cell was released. In addition to their implications for understanding the biology of C. novyi NT, these studies document the presence of proteinaceous growth spirals in a biological organism.
AB - Spores of the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium novyi NT are able to germinate in and destroy hypoxic regions of tumors in experimental animals. Future progress in this area will benefit from a better understanding of the germination and outgrowth processes that are essential for the tumorilytic properties of these spores. Toward this end, we have used both transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to determine the structure of both dormant and germinating spores. We found that the spores are surrounded by an amorphous layer intertwined with honeycomb parasporal layers. Moreover, the spore coat layers had apparently self-assembled, and this assembly was likely to be governed by crystal growth principles. During germination and outgrowth, the honeycomb layers, as well as the underlying spore coat and undercoat layers, sequentially dissolved until the vegetative cell was released. In addition to their implications for understanding the biology of C. novyi NT, these studies document the presence of proteinaceous growth spirals in a biological organism.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34548472416&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34548472416&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1128/JB.00757-07
DO - 10.1128/JB.00757-07
M3 - Article
C2 - 17586633
AN - SCOPUS:34548472416
VL - 189
SP - 6457
EP - 6468
JO - Journal of Bacteriology
JF - Journal of Bacteriology
SN - 0021-9193
IS - 17
ER -