Paster B J, Canale-Parola E
J Bacteriol. 1980 Jan;141(1):359-64. doi: 10.1128/jb.141.1.359-364.1980.
Nonmotile (Mot-) strains of Spirochaeta aurantia and Spirochaeta halophila were isolated with a procedure involving mutagenesis of motile wild-type cells. Electron microscopy showed that a Mot- mutant strain of S. halophia possessed incomplete periplasmic fibrils, inasmuch as most or all of the filamentous portion of the periplasmic fibrils was absent. Some of the cells of this Mot-, fibril-defective mutant strain lacked the filamentous portion of the periplasmic fibrils and formed proximal hooks, whereas other cells appeared to have a very small segment of the filamentous portion of the periplasmic fibrils attached to the proximal hooks. Motile revertants were isolated repeatedly from cultures of the Mot-, fibril-defective mutant and from S. halophila Mot- mutants that completely lacked periplasmic fibrils. The motile revertants possessed periplasmic fibrils ultrastructurally indistinguishable from wild-type periplasmic fibrils. This study indicates that periplasmic fibrils play an essential role in the motility of spirochetes.
通过对运动型野生型细胞进行诱变的程序，分离出了橙色螺旋体和嗜盐螺旋体的非运动型（Mot-）菌株。电子显微镜显示，嗜盐螺旋体的Mot-突变株具有不完整的周质纤维，因为周质纤维的大部分或全部丝状部分缺失。该Mot-、纤维缺陷突变株的一些细胞缺乏周质纤维的丝状部分并形成近端钩，而其他细胞似乎有非常小的一段周质纤维的丝状部分附着在近端钩上。从Mot-、纤维缺陷突变株的培养物以及完全缺乏周质纤维的嗜盐螺旋体Mot-突变株中反复分离出运动回复体。这些运动回复体具有在超微结构上与野生型周质纤维无法区分的周质纤维。这项研究表明，周质纤维在螺旋体的运动中起着至关重要的作用。
