Periplasmic flagella in Borrelia burgdoferi function to maintain cellular integrity upon external stress.

Tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) in solution was used to analyze the role of the internally located periplasmic flagella (PFs) of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in withstanding externally applied cellular stresses. By systematically imaging immobilized spirochetes with in...

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Main Authors: Bharath Kumar, Kelly Miller, Nyles W Charon, Justin Legleiter
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184648
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author Bharath Kumar
Kelly Miller
Nyles W Charon
Justin Legleiter
author_facet Bharath Kumar
Kelly Miller
Nyles W Charon
Justin Legleiter
author_sort Bharath Kumar
collection DOAJ
description Tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) in solution was used to analyze the role of the internally located periplasmic flagella (PFs) of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in withstanding externally applied cellular stresses. By systematically imaging immobilized spirochetes with increasing tapping forces, we found that mutants that lack PFs are more readily compressed and damaged by the imaging process compared to wild-type cells. This finding suggest that the PFs, aside from being essential for motility and involved in cell shape, play a cytoskeletal role in dissipating energy and maintaining cellular integrity in the presence of external stress.
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spelling doaj.art-9bd5d951bc554b63b9b9c5d173ffd35e2022-12-21T20:45:20ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01129e018464810.1371/journal.pone.0184648Periplasmic flagella in Borrelia burgdoferi function to maintain cellular integrity upon external stress.Bharath KumarKelly MillerNyles W CharonJustin LegleiterTapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) in solution was used to analyze the role of the internally located periplasmic flagella (PFs) of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in withstanding externally applied cellular stresses. By systematically imaging immobilized spirochetes with increasing tapping forces, we found that mutants that lack PFs are more readily compressed and damaged by the imaging process compared to wild-type cells. This finding suggest that the PFs, aside from being essential for motility and involved in cell shape, play a cytoskeletal role in dissipating energy and maintaining cellular integrity in the presence of external stress.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184648
spellingShingle Bharath Kumar
Kelly Miller
Nyles W Charon
Justin Legleiter
Periplasmic flagella in Borrelia burgdoferi function to maintain cellular integrity upon external stress.
PLoS ONE
title Periplasmic flagella in Borrelia burgdoferi function to maintain cellular integrity upon external stress.
title_full Periplasmic flagella in Borrelia burgdoferi function to maintain cellular integrity upon external stress.
title_fullStr Periplasmic flagella in Borrelia burgdoferi function to maintain cellular integrity upon external stress.
title_full_unstemmed Periplasmic flagella in Borrelia burgdoferi function to maintain cellular integrity upon external stress.
title_short Periplasmic flagella in Borrelia burgdoferi function to maintain cellular integrity upon external stress.
title_sort periplasmic flagella in borrelia burgdoferi function to maintain cellular integrity upon external stress
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184648
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