Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T11:24:25.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A study of pili on Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

David E. Bradley
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, Scotland
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa carries polar pili which act as receptors for RNA-containing bacteriophages. In order to confirm, that these pili were not involved in the transfer of the sex factor FP 2, eleven bacterial strains, both FP 2+ and FP 2, were examined in the electron microscope for the presence of pili and tested for sensitivity to the RNA phage PP7. Pili were found on all strains save one which was resistant to phage PP7. It was also found by electron microscopy that about 25 times more pili per cell were present after PP7 adsorption than before it. This result is discussed with reference to the pilus retraction theory, providing further evidence that some kinds of pili retract instead of acting as simple tubes for the transfer of genetic material. The strong supporting evidence provided by the infective processes of male-specific coliphages is discussed and compared to current knowledge of P. aeruginosa RNA phages.

It was also found that pili were present on the host strain for the P. aeruginosa filamentous phage Pf. Although similar in appearance to RNA phage pili, these differed in that they did not adsorb phage PP7. However, it seemed likely that they were receptors for Pf. A structural comparison is made between P. aeruginosa pili and Escherichia coli F-pili. It is possible that P. aeruginosa pili could be coded for by a plasmid other than FP 2.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1972

References

REFERENCES

Adams, M. H. (1959). Bacteriophages. New York and London: Interscience Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, T. F. (1958). Recombination and segregation in Escherichia coli. Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology 23, 4758.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, T. F., Wollman, E. L. & Jacob, F. (1957). Sur les processus de conjugaison et de recombinaison chez Escherichia coli. III. Aspects morphologiques en microscopie électronique. Annales de l'Institut Pasteur 93, 450455.Google Scholar
Bradley, D. E. (1966). The structure and infective process of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteriophage containing ribonucleic acid. Journal of General Microbiology 45, 8396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradley, D. E. & Robertson, D. (1968). The structure and infective process of a contractile Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteriophage. Journal of General Virology 3, 247254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brinton, C. C. (1965). The structure, function, synthesis and genetic control of bacterial pili and a molecular model for DNA and RNA transport in Gram negative bacteria. Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences 27, 10031054.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brinton, C. C., Gemski, P. & Carnahan, J. (1964). A new type of bacterial pilus genetically controlled by the fertility factor of E. coli K 12, and its role in chromosome transfer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 52, 776783.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caro, L. G. & Schnös, M. (1966). The attachment of the male-specific bacteriophage f1 to sensitive strains of Escherichia coli. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 56, 126132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Datta, N., Lawn, A. M. & Meynell, E. (1956). The relationship of F type piliation and F phage sensitivity to drug resistance transfer in R+FEscherichia coli K 12. Journal of General Microbiology 45, 365376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feary, T. W., Fisher, E. Jr., & Fisher, T. N. (1964). Isolation and preliminary characteristics of three bacteriophages associated with a lysogenic strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Journal of Bacteriology 87, 196208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fuerst, J. A. & Hayward, A. C. (1969). Surface appendages similar to fimbriae (pili) on Pseudomonas species. Journal of General Microbiology 58, 227237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holloway, B. W. (1955). Genetic recombination in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Journal of General Microbiology 13, 572581.Google ScholarPubMed
Holloway, B. W. (1969). Genetics of Pseudomonas. Bacteriological Reviews 33, 419443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holloway, B. W. & Jennings, P. A. (1958). An infectious fertility factor for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Nature, London 181, 855856.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawn, A. M. (1966). Morphological features of the pili associated with Escherichia coli K12 carrying R factors or the F factor. Journal of General Microbiology 45, 377383.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loeb, T. & Zinder, N. D. (1961). A bacteriophage containing RNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 47, 282289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marvin, D. A. & Hohn, B. (1969). Filamentous bacterial viruses. Bacteriological Reviews 33, 172209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Minamishima, Y., Takeya, K., Ohnishi, Y. & Amako, K. (1968). Physicochemical and biological properties of fibrous Pseudomonas bacteriophages. Journal of Virology 2, 208213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paranchych, W. (1966). Initial stages in phage R 17 infection: the role of divalent cations. Virology 28, 9099.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silverman, P. M. & Valentine, R. C. (1969). The RNA injection step of bacteriophage f2 infection. Journal of General Virology 4, 111124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stanisich, V. A. & Holloway, B. W. (1969). Conjugation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Genetics 61, 327340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Takeya, K. & Amako, K. (1966). A rod-shaped Pseudomonas phage. Virology 28, 163165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trenkner, E., Bonhoeffer, F. & Gierer, A. (1967). The fate of the protein component of bacteriophage fd during infection. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 28, 932939.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Valentine, R. C. & Wedel, H. (1965). The extracellular stages of RNA bacteriophage infection. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 21, 106112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weiss, R. L. & Raj, H. D. (1970). Fine structure of Pseudomonas pili. Bacteriological Proceedings. Proceedings of the 70th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Boston Mass, 1970.Google Scholar
Weppelman, R. M. & JrBrinton, C. C. (1971). The infection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by RNA pilus phage PP7: the adsorption organelle and the relationship between phage sensitivity and the division cycle. Virology 44, 117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed