著者
Kuwabara Tomohiko Igarashi Kensuke
出版者
Springer
雑誌
Extremophiles (ISSN:14310651)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.16, no.6, pp.863-870, 2012-11
被引用文献数
9 1

Thermosipho globiformans is a member ofThermotogales, which contains rod-shaped, Gram-negative,anaerobic (hyper)thermophiles. These bacteria arecharacterized by an outer sheath-like envelope, the toga,which includes the outer membrane and an amorphouslayer, and forms large periplasm at the poles of each rod.The cytoplasmic membrane and its contents are called‘‘cell’’, and the toga and its contents ‘‘rod’’, to distinguishbetween them. Optical cells were constructed to observebinary fission of T. globiformans. High-temperaturemicroscopy of rods adhering to optical cells’ coverslipsshowed that the large periplasm forms between newlydivided cells in a rod, followed by rod fission at the middleof the periplasm, which was accompanied by a sidewardmotion of the newly generated rod pole(s). Electronmicroscopic observations revealed that sessile rods grownon a glass plate have nanotubes adhered to the glass, andthese may be involved in the sideward motion. Epifluorescencemicroscopy with a membrane-staining dye suggestedthat formation of the septal outer membrane isdistinct from cytokinesis. Transmission electron microscopyindicated that the amorphous layer forms in the periplasmbetween already-divided cells. These findingssuggest that the large periplasm is the structure in whichthe septal toga forms, an event separate from cytokinesis.