Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Influence of P. fluorescens Cell Morphology on the Lytic Performance and Production of Phage ϕIBB-PF7A

  • Published:
Current Microbiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study aims at assessing the influence of Pseudomonas fluorescence cell morphology on the effectiveness and production of the lytic bacteriophage ϕIBB-PF7A. P. fluorescens were cultured as rods or as elongated cells by varying the temperature and rotary agitation conditions. Cells presented rod shape when grown at temperatures up to 25°C and also at 30°C under static conditions, and elongated morphology only at 30°C when cultures were grown under agitation. Elongated cells were 0.4 up to 27.9 μm longer than rod cells. Rod-shaped hosts were best infected by phages at 25°C which resulted in an 82% cell density reduction. Phage infection of elongated cells was successful, and the cell density reductions achieved was statistically similar (P > 0.05) to those obtained at the optimum growth temperature of P. fluorescens. Phage burst size varied with the cell growth conditions and was approximately 58 and 153 PFU per infected rod and elongated cells, grown at 160 rpm, at 25°C (the optimal temperature) and 30°C, respectively. Phage adsorption was faster to elongated cells, most likely due to the longer length of the host. The surface composition of rod and elongated cells is similar in terms of outer membrane proteins and lipopolysaccharide profiles. The results of this study suggest that the change of rod cells to an elongated morphology does not prevent cells from being attacked by phages and also does not impair the phage infection.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Adams MH (1959) Bacteriophages. Interscience Publishers, New York

    Google Scholar 

  2. Barry G, Goebel W (1951) The effect of chemical and physical agents on the phage receptor of phase-II Shigella sonnei. J Exp Med 94:387–400

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bremer H, Dennis PP (1996) Modulation of chemical composition and other parameters of the cell by growth rate. In: Neidhardt FC, Curtiss R III, Ingraham JL, Lin ECC, Low KB, Magasanik B, Reznikoff WS, Riley M, Schaechter M, Umbarger HE (eds) Escherichia coli and Salmonella: cellular and molecular biology. American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC, pp 1553–1569

    Google Scholar 

  4. Comeau AM, Tetart F, Trojet SN, Prere M-F, Krisch HM (2007) Phage-antibiotic synergy (PAS): B-lactam and quinolone antibiotics stimulate virulent phage growth. PLoS ONE 2:e799

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Edgar R, Rokney A, Feeney M, Semsey S, Kessel M, Goldberg MB, Adhya S, Oppenheim AB (2008) Bacteriophage infection is targeted to cellular poles. Mol Microbiol 68:1107–1116

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Errington J, Daniel RA, Scheffers DJ (2003) Cytokinesis in bacteria. Mol Biol Rev 67:52–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Greenwood D, O’Grady F (1973) Comparison of the response of Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis to seven b-lactam antibiotics. J Infect Dis 128:1231–1240

    Google Scholar 

  8. Hadas H, Einav M, Fishov I, Zaritsky A (1997) Bacteriophage T4 development depends on the physiology of its host Escherichia coli. Microbiology 143:179–185

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kasman L, Kasman A, Westwater C, Dolan J, Schmidt M, Norris J (2002) Overcoming the phage replication threshold: a mathematical model with implications for phage therapy. J Virol 76:557–5564

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Krueger AP, Cohn T, Smith PN, McGuire CD (1948) Observations on the effect of penicillin on the reaction between phage and staphylococci. J Gen Physiol 31:477–488

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Laemmli UK (1970) Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature 227:680–685

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Maki N, Gestwicki JE, Lake EM, Kiessling LL, Adler J (2000) Motility and chemotaxis of filamentous cells of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol 182:4337–4342

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Margolin W (2000) Themes and variations in prokaryotic cell division. FEMS Microbiol Rev 24:531–548

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Maskell JP (1991) The resolution of bacteroides lipopolysaccharides by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. J Med Microbiol 34:253–257

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Masuda N, Sakagawa E, Ohya S (1995) Outer membrane proteins responsible for multiple drug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 39:645–649

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Puig A, Araujo R, Jofre J, Frias-Lopez J (2001) Identification of cell wall proteins of Bacteroides fragilis to which bacteriophage B40-8 binds specifically. Microbiology 147:281–288

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Rolinson GN (1980) Effect of b-lacta antibiotics on bacterial cell growth rate. J Gen Microbiol 120:317–323

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Rothfield LS, Justice S, Garcia-Lara J (1999) Bacterial cell division. Annu Rev Genet 33:423–448

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Sambrook J, Russell DW (2001) Molecular cloning: a laboratory manual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY

    Google Scholar 

  20. Sillankorva S, Neubauer P, Azeredo J (2008) Isolation and characterization of a T7-like lytic phage for Pseudomonas fluorescens. BMC Biotechnol 8:80

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Sillankorva S, Neubauer P, Azeredo J (2008) Pseudomonas fluorescens biofilms subjected to phage phiIBB-PF7A. BMC Biotechnol 8:79

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Sillankorva S, Neubauer P, Azeredo J (2010) Phage control of dual species biofilms of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Staphylococcus lentus. Biofouling 26:567–575

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Steinberger RE, Allen AR, Hansa HG, Holden PA (2002) Elongation correlates with nutrient deprivation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa—unsaturated biofilms. Microbiol Ecol 43:416–423

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Werner E, Roe F, Bugnicourt A, Franklin MJ, Heydorn A, Molin S, Pitts B, Stewart PS (2004) Stratified growth in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Appl Environ Microbiol 70:6188–6198

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Wright JB, Costerton JW, Mccoy WF (1988) Filamentous growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Ind Microbiol 3:139–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Yokochi T, Narita K, Morikawa A, Takahashi K, Kato Y, Sugiyama T, Koide N, Kawai M, Fukada M, Yoshida T (2000) Morphological change in Pseudomonas aeruginosa following antibiotic treatment of experimental infection in ice and its relation to susceptibility to phagocytosis and to release of endotoxin. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 44:205–206

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. You LC, Suthers PF, Yin J (2002) Effects of Escherichia coli physiology on growth of phage T7 in vivo and in silico. J Bacteriol 184:1888–1894

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Young KD (2006) The selective value of bacterial shape. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 70:660–703

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Young KD (2007) Bacterial morphology: why have different shapes? Curr Opin Microbiol 10:596–600

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant (SFRH/BD/18485/2004) from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IBB - Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Biological Engineering, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal

    Sanna Sillankorva, Diana Pires, Hugo Oliveira & Joana Azeredo

  2. Bioprocess Engineering Laboratory, Department of Process and Environmental Engineering and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4300, Oulu, Finland

    Sanna Sillankorva

  3. Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Peter Neubauer

Authors
  1. Sanna Sillankorva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Diana Pires
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hugo Oliveira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Peter Neubauer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Joana Azeredo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sanna Sillankorva.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sillankorva, S., Pires, D., Oliveira, H. et al. The Influence of P. fluorescens Cell Morphology on the Lytic Performance and Production of Phage ϕIBB-PF7A. Curr Microbiol 63, 347 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-011-9987-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-011-9987-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation