Abstract
X-ray microanalysis showed that vegetative cells, viable resting forms, and nonviable forms (micromummies) of the bacteria Bacillus cereus and Micrococcus luteus and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae differ in the content of elements S, P, Ca, and K and Ca/K and P/S ratios. Viable resting forms (cystlike refractive cells and bacillar endospores) had more calcium and less phosphorus and potassium than vegetative cells, the difference being higher for bacilli than for micrococci and yeasts. The distinctive feature of all viable resting microbial forms was their low P/S ratios and high Ca/K ratios. The differences revealed in the cellular content and ratios of elements probably reflect changes in ionic homeostasis accompanying the transition of vegetative microbial cells to the dormant state. Relevant potassium parameters indicate that the membranes of viable resting forms retain their barrier function. At the same time, the nonviable micromummies, even those morphologically intact, of B. cereus and S. cerevisiae exhibited an anomalously low content of potassium, while those of M. luteus had an anomalously high content of this element. This suggests that the cellular membranes of micromummies lose their barrier function, which results in a free diffusion of potassium ions across the membranes. The possibility of using the elemental composition parameters for the quick analysis of the physiological state of microorganisms in natural environments is discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Roszak, D.B. and Colwell, R.R., Survival Strategies of Bacteria in the Natural Environment, Microbiol. Rev., 1987, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 365–379.
Morita, R.Y., Bioavailability of Energy and Its Relationship to Growth and Starvation Survival in Nature, Can. J. Microbiol., 1988, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 436–441.
Duda, V.I., Pronin, S.V., El'-Registan, G.I., Kaprel'yants, A.S., and Mityushina, L.L., Production of Resting Refractive Cells in Bacillus cereus under the Action of Autoregulatory Factor, Mikrobiologiya, 1982, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 77–81.
Mulyukin, A.L., Lusta, K.A., Gryaznova, M.N., Kozlova, A.N., Duzha, M.V., Duda, V.I., and El'-Registan, G.I., Formation of Resting Cells by Bacillus cereus and Micrococcus luteus, Mikrobiologiya, 1996, vol. 65, no. 6, pp. 782–789.
Mulyukin, A.L., Lusta, K.A., Gryaznova, M.N., Babusenko, E.S., Kozlova, A.N., Duzha, M.V., Mityushina, L.L., Duda, V.I., and El'-Registan, G.I., Formation of Resting Cells in Microbial Suspensions Undergoing Autolysis, Mikrobiologiya, 1997, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 42–49.
Suzina, N.E., Mulyukin, A.L., Loiko, N.G., Kozlova, A.N., Dmitriev, V.V., Shorokhova, A.P., Gorlenko, V.M., Duda, V.I., and El'-Registan, G.I., Fine Structure of Mummified Cells of Microorganisms Formed under the Influence of a Chemical Analogue of Anabiosis Autoinducer, Mikrobiologiya, 2001, vol. 70, no. 6, pp. 776–787.
Osipov, G.A., El'-Registan, G.I., Svetlichnyi, V.A., Kozlova, A.N., Duda, V.I., Kaprel'yants, A.S., and Pomazanov, V.V., About the Chemical Nature of the Autoregulatory Factor d 1 of Pseudomonas carboxydoflava, Mikrobiologiya, 1985, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 186–190.
Batrakov, S.G., El'-Registan, G.I., Pridachina, N.N., Nenasheva, V.A., Kozlova, A.N., Gryaznova, M.N., and Zolotareva, I.N., Tyrosol, an Autoregulatory d 1 factor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Mikrobiologiya, 1993, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 633–638.
Kaprel'yants, A.S., Suleimenov, M.K., Sorokina, A.D., Deborin, G.A., El'-Registan, G.I., Stoyanovich, F.M., Lille, Yu.E., and Ostrovskii, D.N., Structural and Functional Alterations Induced in Bacterial and Model Membranes by Phenolic Lipids, Biol. Membr., 1987, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 254–261.
El'-Registan, G.I., Gal'chenko, V.F., Il'inskaya, O.N., Kolpakov, A.I., Mulyukin, A.L., and Krylov, I.A., The Role of Chemical Chaperones in Microbial Dormancy and Resistance, in Fermenty mikroorganizmov (Microbial Enzymes), Kazan, 2001, pp. 50–53.
Porter, J.R., Bacterial Chemistry and Physiology, New York: Wiley, 1946, p. 365.
Schrerrer, R. and Shull, V.E., Microincineration and Elemental X-Ray Microanalysis of Single Bacillus cereus T Spores, Can. J. Microbiol., 1987, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 304–313.
Korenevskii, A.A., Sorokin, V.V., and Karavaiko, G.I., The Interaction of Silver Ions with Candida utilis Cells, Mikrobiologiya, 1993, vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 1085–1092.
Norland, S., Fagerbakke, K.M., and Heldal, M., Light Element Analysis of Individual Bacteria by X-Ray Microanalysis, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 1995, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 1357–1362.
Sigee, D.C., Levado, E., and Dodwell, A.J., Elemental Composition of Depth Samples of Ceratium hurindinella (Pyrrophyta) within a Stratified Lake: An X-Ray Microanalytical Study, Aquat. Microb. Ecol., 1999, vol. 19, pp. 177–187.
Cameron, I.L., Hardman, W.E., Smith, N.K., Fullerton, G.D., and Miseta, A., Changes in the Concentrations of Ions during Senescence of the Human Erythrocytes, Cell Biol. Int., 1993, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 93–98.
Nikitin, D.I., Tashtemirova, M.A., Pitryuk, I.A., Sorokin, V.V., Oranskaya, M.S., and Nikitin, L.E., High Resistance of Some Oligotrophic Bacteria to Ionizing Radiation, Mikrobiologiya, 1993, vol. 62, no. 6, pp. 1064–1071.
Nikitin, D.I., Sorokin, V.V., Pitryuk, I.A., and Nikitina, E.S., Elemental Composition of Bacterial Cells from Different Taxa, Prikl. Biokhim. Mikrobiol., 1998, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 180–182.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mulyukin, A.L., Sorokin, V.V., Loiko, N.G. et al. Comparative Study of the Elemental Composition of Vegetative and Resting Microbial Cells. Microbiology 71, 31–40 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017942114930
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017942114930