This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Martínez, A.
Right arrow Articles by Kolter, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Martínez, A.
Right arrow Articles by Kolter, R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, December 1999, p. 7331-7338, Vol. 181, No. 23
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Sliding Motility in Mycobacteria

Asunción Martínez, Sandra Torello, and Roberto Kolter*

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Received 14 June 1999/Accepted 15 September 1999

Mycobacteria are nonflagellated gram-positive microorganisms. Previously thought to be nonmotile, we show here that Mycobacterium smegmatis can spread on the surface of growth medium by a sliding mechanism. M. smegmatis spreads as a monolayer of cells which are arranged in pseudofilaments by close cell-to-cell contacts, predominantly along their longitudinal axis. The monolayer moves away from the inoculation point as a unit with only minor rearrangements. No extracellular structures such as pili or fimbriae appear to be involved in this process. The ability to translocate over the surface correlates with the presence of glycopeptidolipids, a mycobacterium-specific class of amphiphilic molecules located in the outermost layer of the cell envelope. We present evidence that surface motility is not restricted to M. smegmatis but is also a property of the slow-growing opportunistic pathogen M. avium. This form of motility could play an important role in surface colonization by mycobacteria in the environment as well as in the host.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115. Phone: (617) 432-1776. Fax: (617) 738-7664. E-mail kolter{at}mbcrr.harvard.edu.


Journal of Bacteriology, December 1999, p. 7331-7338, Vol. 181, No. 23
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Williams, M. M., Yakrus, M. A., Arduino, M. J., Cooksey, R. C., Crane, C. B., Banerjee, S. N., Hilborn, E. D., Donlan, R. M. (2009). Structural Analysis of Biofilm Formation by Rapidly and Slowly Growing Nontuberculous Mycobacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 2091-2098 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Stewart, C. R., Rossier, O., Cianciotto, N. P. (2009). Surface Translocation by Legionella pneumophila: a Form of Sliding Motility That Is Dependent upon Type II Protein Secretion. J. Bacteriol. 191: 1537-1546 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Fournier, J., Timmers, A. C.J., Sieberer, B. J., Jauneau, A., Chabaud, M., Barker, D. G. (2008). Mechanism of Infection Thread Elongation in Root Hairs of Medicago truncatula and Dynamic Interplay with Associated Rhizobial Colonization. Plant Physiol. 148: 1985-1995 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Schorey, J. S, Sweet, L. (2008). The mycobacterial glycopeptidolipids: structure, function, and their role in pathogenesis. Glycobiology 18: 832-841 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Agusti, G., Astola, O., Rodriguez-Guell, E., Julian, E., Luquin, M. (2008). Surface Spreading Motility Shown by a Group of Phylogenetically Related, Rapidly Growing Pigmented Mycobacteria Suggests that Motility Is a Common Property of Mycobacterial Species but Is Restricted to Smooth Colonies. J. Bacteriol. 190: 6894-6902 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Arora, K., Whiteford, D. C., Lau-Bonilla, D., Davitt, C. M., Dahl, J. L. (2008). Inactivation of lsr2 Results in a Hypermotile Phenotype in Mycobacterium smegmatis. J. Bacteriol. 190: 4291-4300 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Murray, T. S., Kazmierczak, B. I. (2008). Pseudomonas aeruginosa Exhibits Sliding Motility in the Absence of Type IV Pili and Flagella. J. Bacteriol. 190: 2700-2708 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Farrow, M. F., Rubin, E. J. (2008). Function of a Mycobacterial Major Facilitator Superfamily Pump Requires a Membrane-Associated Lipoprotein. J. Bacteriol. 190: 1783-1791 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kaito, C., Sekimizu, K. (2007). Colony Spreading in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 189: 2553-2557 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Freeman, R., Geier, H., Weigel, K. M., Do, J., Ford, T. E., Cangelosi, G. A. (2006). Roles for Cell Wall Glycopeptidolipid in Surface Adherence and Planktonic Dispersal of Mycobacterium avium. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 7554-7558 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Reynolds, T. B. (2006). The Opi1p Transcription Factor Affects Expression of FLO11, Mat Formation, and Invasive Growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.. Eukaryot Cell 5: 1266-1275 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Howard, S. T., Rhoades, E., Recht, J., Pang, X., Alsup, A., Kolter, R., Lyons, C. R., Byrd, T. F. (2006). Spontaneous reversion of Mycobacterium abscessus from a smooth to a rough morphotype is associated with reduced expression of glycopeptidolipid and reacquisition of an invasive phenotype. Microbiology 152: 1581-1590 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mathew, R., Mukherjee, R., Balachandar, R., Chatterji, D. (2006). Deletion of the rpoZ gene, encoding the {omega} subunit of RNA polymerase, results in pleiotropic surface-related phenotypes in Mycobacterium smegmatis. Microbiology 152: 1741-1750 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yamazaki, Y., Danelishvili, L., Wu, M., MacNab, M., Bermudez, L. E. (2006). Mycobacterium avium Genes Associated with the Ability To Form a Biofilm. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 819-825 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Deshayes, C., Laval, F., Montrozier, H., Daffe, M., Etienne, G., Reyrat, J.-M. (2005). A Glycosyltransferase Involved in Biosynthesis of Triglycosylated Glycopeptidolipids in Mycobacterium smegmatis: Impact on Surface Properties. J. Bacteriol. 187: 7283-7291 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Etienne, G., Laval, F., Villeneuve, C., Dinadayala, P., Abouwarda, A., Zerbib, D., Galamba, A., Daffe, M. (2005). The cell envelope structure and properties of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155: is there a clue for the unique transformability of the strain?. Microbiology 151: 2075-2086 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dailloux, M., Albert, M., Laurain, C., Andolfatto, S., Lozniewski, A., Hartemann, P., Mathieu, L. (2003). Mycobacterium xenopi and Drinking Water Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 6946-6948 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Carter, G., Wu, M., Drummond, D. C., Bermudez, L. E. (2003). Characterization of biofilm formation by clinical isolates of Mycobacterium avium. J Med Microbiol 52: 747-752 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Le Dantec, C., Duguet, J.-P., Montiel, A., Dumoutier, N., Dubrou, S., Vincent, V. (2002). Occurrence of Mycobacteria in Water Treatment Lines and in Water Distribution Systems. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 5318-5325 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ojha, A. Kr., Varma, S., Chatterji, D. (2002). Synthesis of an unusual polar glycopeptidolipid in glucose-limited culture of Mycobacterium smegmatis. Microbiology 148: 3039-3048 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Etienne, G., Villeneuve, C., Billman-Jacobe, H., Astarie-Dequeker, C., Dupont, M.-A., Daffe, M. (2002). The impact of the absence of glycopeptidolipids on the ultrastructure, cell surface and cell wall properties, and phagocytosis of Mycobacterium smegmatis. Microbiology 148: 3089-3100 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kolari, M., Schmidt, U., Kuismanen, E., Salkinoja-Salonen, M. S. (2002). Firm but Slippery Attachment of Deinococcus geothermalis. J. Bacteriol. 184: 2473-2480 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Recht, J., Kolter, R. (2001). Glycopeptidolipid Acetylation Affects Sliding Motility and Biofilm Formation in Mycobacterium smegmatis. J. Bacteriol. 183: 5718-5724 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brown, I. I., Häse, C. C. (2001). Flagellum-Independent Surface Migration of Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 183: 3784-3790 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cangelosi, G. A., Palermo, C. O., Bermudez, L. E. (2001). Phenotypic consequences of red-white colony type variation in Mycobacterium avium. Microbiology 147: 527-533 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Reynolds, T. B., Fink, G. R. (2001). Bakers' Yeast, a Model for Fungal Biofilm Formation. Science 291: 878-881 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Recht, J., Martínez, A., Torello, S., Kolter, R. (2000). Genetic Analysis of Sliding Motility in Mycobacterium smegmatis. J. Bacteriol. 182: 4348-4351 [Abstract] [Full Text]