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Periodicity in Attachment Organelle Revealed by Electron Cryotomography Suggests Conformational Changes in Gliding Mechanism of Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Akihiro KawamotoLisa MatsuoTakayuki KatoHiroki YamamotoKeiichi NambaMakoto Miyata
Published in: mBio (2016)
Human mycoplasma pneumonia, epidemic all over the world in recent years, is caused by a pathogenic bacterium,Mycoplasma pneumoniae This tiny bacterium, about 2 µm in cell body length, glides on the surface of the human trachea to infect the host by binding to sialylated oligosaccharides, which are also the binding targets of influenza viruses. The mechanism of mycoplasmal gliding motility is not related to any other well-studied motility systems, such as bacterial flagella and cytoplasmic motor proteins. Here, we visualized the attachment organelle, a cellular architecture for gliding, three dimensionally by using electron cryotomography and other conventional methods. A possible gliding mechanism has been suggested based on the architectural images.
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