Cellular responses of Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli to the Gram stain

Cellular responses of Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli to the Gram stain.

Exponentially growing cells of Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli were Gram stained with potassium trichloro(eta 2-ethylene)platinum(II) (TPt) in place of the usual KI-I2 mordant. This electron-dense probe allowed the staining mechanism to be followed and compared with cellular perturbations throughout the staining process. A crystal violet (CV)-TPt chemical complex was formed within the ce...

multimer) to Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis

Heterologous Bacillus subtilis-Escherichia coli Gene Fusion

Translational coupling was demonstrated in a gene fusion in which the promoter and the N-terminal region of the Bacillus subtilis subtilisin (aprA) gene were fused to a promoterless Tn9-derived chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT; EC 2.3.1.28) gene. Expression of this gene fusion results in the production of a native-sized CAT product, whereas the Tn9-derived CAT gene is usually not translat...

Cellular responses to enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), first described in the 1940's and 1950's, remain an important cause of severe infantile diarrhoea in many parts of the developing world. EPEC do not produce enterotoxins and are not invasive; instead their virulence depends upon exploitation of host cell signalling pathways and the host cell cytoskeleton both as a means of colonizing mucosal surfaces of...

Effect of Microwaves on Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis.

Suspensions of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis spores were exposed to conventional thermal and microwave energy at 2,450 MHz. The degrees of inactivation by the different energy sources were compared quantitatively. During the transient heating period by microwave energy, approximately a 6 log cycle reduction in viability was encountered for E. coli. This reduction was nearly identical t...