Non-acid-fastness in Mycobacterium tuberculosis ΔkasB mutant correlates with the cell envelope electron density

Hiroyuki Yamada, Apoorva Bhatt, Radostin Danev, Nagatoshi Fujiwara, Shinji Maeda, Satoshi Mitarai, Kinuyo Chikamatsu, Akio Aono, Koji Nitta, William R. Jacobs, Kuniaki Nagayama

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

The acid-fastness is the most important and the most specific characteristics in mycobacteria, the mechanism of which is not clear but may be attributed to the lipid rich cell wall of this bacterium. While the exact component(s) responsible for this staining method remained unidentified, a Mycobacterium tuberculosis mutant, attenuated strain that produced shorter mycolic acids with defects in trans-cyclopropanation was shown to be acid fast negative. In this study, we examined the ultrastructure of the cell envelope (CE) of the mutant strain ΔkasB (missing a beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthase involved in mycolic acid biosynthesis), the parental CDC1551 (wild type strain) and kasB complemented strain, and compared ultrastructural differences among them with conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (CEM). Conventional TEM revealed that there were no detectable differences in the thickness of the cell envelope among three strains (wild-type: 43.35 ± 6.13 nm; ΔkasB: 45.98 ± 11.32 nm; complement: 40.71 ± 6.3 nm). However, CEM data demonstrated that the region between the inner and outer membranes of the mutant strain, which is composed mainly of cell wall anchored mycolic acids (MA), showed a significant decrease in electron density as compared to the wild type and kasB complement strain (567.1 ± 372.7 vs. 301.4 ± 262.1, or vs. 235.2 ± 174.9, p < 0.02 or p < 0.001, respectively). These results suggested that altered MA patterns in the kasB mutant may have affected the packing of the lipid rich layer of the M. tuberculosis cell envelope, resulting in a reduced electron density of this layer as seen by CEM and loss of acid-fastness in light microscopical observation, and we propose a novel model of the cell envelope structure in tubercle bacilli.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)351-357
Number of pages7
JournalTuberculosis
Volume92
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2012

Keywords

  • Acid-fastness
  • Cell envelope
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • Transmission electron microscopy
  • Virulent strain

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Immunology
  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Non-acid-fastness in Mycobacterium tuberculosis ΔkasB mutant correlates with the cell envelope electron density'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this