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Synchronization of Caulobacter Crescentus for Investigation of the Bacterial Cell Cycle
Published on: April 8, 2015
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Cell Cycle, Filament Growth and Synchronized Cell Division in Multicellular Cable Bacteria
Nicole M J Geerlings1, Jeanine S Geelhoed2, Diana Vasquez-Cardenas3
1Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Frontiers in Microbiology
|February 15, 2021
Summary
Cable bacteria use long-distance electron transport for growth. This process, regulated by oxygen availability, synchronizes cell division across millimeter-scale filaments.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Biogeochemistry
- Electrophysiology
Background:
- Cable bacteria are multicellular, Gram-negative filamentous bacteria.
- They exhibit a unique metabolic division of labor, oxidizing sulfide in deep sediment and reducing oxygen at the surface.
- Long-distance electron transport via conductive fibers electrically couples these redox reactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the link between electrogenic metabolism and filament growth/cell division in cable bacteria.
- To understand the regulatory mechanisms controlling cell cycle and synchronicity in these unique organisms.
Main Methods:
- Dual-label stable isotope probing (¹³C and ¹⁵N)
- Nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS)
- Fluorescence microscopy
- Genome analysis
Main Results:
- Cable bacteria cell cycles are comparable to single-celled Gram-negative bacteria.
- Cell growth and division are tightly controlled by long-distance electron transport.
- Remarkable synchronicity in cell division was observed over millimeter length scales within a filament.
Conclusions:
- A novel 'oxygen pacemaker' model is proposed.
- Filament growth is dependent on long-distance electron transport.
- Oxygen availability is crucial for electron discharge and thus filament growth and synchronized division.
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