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 Macfarlane, S.
Right arrow Articles by Macfarlane, G. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Macfarlane, S.
Right arrow Articles by Macfarlane, G. T.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, February 2001, p. 1120-1126, Vol. 69, No. 2
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.2.1120-1126.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Toxin Synthesis and Mucin Breakdown Are Related to Swarming Phenomenon in Clostridium septicum

Sandra Macfarlane, Mark J. Hopkins, and George T. Macfarlane*

MRC Microbiology and Gut Biology Group, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom

Received 1 August 2000/Returned for modification 8 September 2000/Accepted 23 October 2000

Clostridium septicum is responsible for several diseases in humans and animals. The bacterium is capable of a simple kind of multicellular behavior known as swarming. In this investigation, environmental and physiologic factors affecting growth and swarm cell formation in C. septicum were studied over a range of dilution rates (D = 0.02 to 0.65 h-1) in glucose-limited, glucose-excess, and mucin-limited chemostats. Cellular differentiation was observed at low specific growth rates, irrespective of the carbon and energy source, showing that swarming occurred in response to nutrient depletion. Differential expression of virulence determinants was detected in swarm cells. Hemolysin was secreted by short motile rods but not swarm cells, whereas in cultures grown with glucose, only swarm cells formed DNase, hyaluronidase, and neuraminidase. However, neuraminidase and, to a lesser degree, hyaluronidase were induced in short motile rods in mucin-limited cultures. Both swarm cells and short rods were cytotoxic to Vero cells. Mucin was chemotaxic to C. septicum, and large amounts of mucin-degrading enzymes (beta -galactosidase, N-acetyl beta -glucosaminidase, glycosulfatase, and neuraminidase) were produced. Synthesis of these enzymes was catabolite regulated. In chemostat experiments, glycosulfatase secretion occurred only in swarm cells at low dilution rates in mucin-limited cultures. Determinations of oligosaccharide utilization demonstrated that N-acetylglucosamine, galactose, and N-acetylgalactosamine were the main carbon sources for C. septicum in mucin. Neuraminic acid was not assimilated, showing that neuraminidase does not have a direct nutritional function in this pathogen.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: MRC Microbiology and Gut Biology Group, Level 6, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, DD1 9SY, Scotland, United Kingdom. Phone: 44-1382-496250. Fax: 44-1382-633952. E-mail: g.t.macfarlane{at}dundee.ac.uk.

Infection and Immunity, February 2001, p. 1120-1126, Vol. 69, No. 2
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.2.1120-1126.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Salvetti, S., Celandroni, F., Ceragioli, M., Senesi, S., Ghelardi, E. (2009). Identification of non-flagellar genes involved in swarm cell differentiation using a Bacillus thuringiensis mini-Tn10 mutant library. Microbiology 155: 912-921 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mendez, M., Huang, I-H., Ohtani, K., Grau, R., Shimizu, T., Sarker, M. R. (2008). Carbon Catabolite Repression of Type IV Pilus-Dependent Gliding Motility in the Anaerobic Pathogen Clostridium perfringens. J. Bacteriol. 190: 48-60 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ghelardi, E., Celandroni, F., Salvetti, S., Ceragioli, M., Beecher, D. J., Senesi, S., Wong, A. C. L. (2007). Swarming Behavior of and Hemolysin BL Secretion by Bacillus cereus. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 4089-4093 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Callegan, M. C., Novosad, B. D., Ramirez, R., Ghelardi, E., Senesi, S. (2006). Role of swarming migration in the pathogenesis of bacillus endophthalmitis.. IOVS 47: 4461-4467 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kim, W., Surette, M. G. (2006). Coordinated Regulation of Two Independent Cell-Cell Signaling Systems and Swarmer Differentiation in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium. J. Bacteriol. 188: 431-440 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Tanida, T., Okamoto, T., Ueta, E., Yamamoto, T., Osaki, T. (2006). Antimicrobial peptides enhance the candidacidal activity of antifungal drugs by promoting the efflux of ATP from Candida cells. J Antimicrob Chemother 57: 94-103 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Macfarlane, S., Woodmansey, E. J., Macfarlane, G. T. (2005). Colonization of Mucin by Human Intestinal Bacteria and Establishment of Biofilm Communities in a Two-Stage Continuous Culture System. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 7483-7492 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kim, W., Surette, M. G. (2005). Prevalence of Surface Swarming Behavior in Salmonella. J. Bacteriol. 187: 6580-6583 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Calvio, C., Celandroni, F., Ghelardi, E., Amati, G., Salvetti, S., Ceciliani, F., Galizzi, A., Senesi, S. (2005). Swarming Differentiation and Swimming Motility in Bacillus subtilis Are Controlled by swrA, a Newly Identified Dicistronic Operon. J. Bacteriol. 187: 5356-5366 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Aristoteli, L. P., Willcox, M. D. P. (2003). Mucin Degradation Mechanisms by Distinct Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates In Vitro. Infect. Immun. 71: 5565-5575 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Deplancke, B., Finster, K., Graham, W V., Collier, C. T., Thurmond, J. E., Gaskins, H. R. (2003). Gastrointestinal and Microbial Responses to Sulfate-Supplemented Drinking Water in Mice. Exp. Biol. Med. 228: 424-433 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ghelardi, E., Celandroni, F., Salvetti, S., Beecher, D. J., Gominet, M., Lereclus, D., Wong, A. C. L., Senesi, S. (2002). Requirement of flhA for Swarming Differentiation, Flagellin Export, and Secretion of Virulence-Associated Proteins in Bacillus thuringiensis. J. Bacteriol. 184: 6424-6433 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Deplancke, B., Vidal, O., Ganessunker, D., Donovan, S. M, Mackie, R. I, Gaskins, H R. (2002). Selective growth of mucolytic bacteria including Clostridium perfringens in a neonatal piglet model of total parenteral nutrition. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 76: 1117-1125 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Senesi, S., Celandroni, F., Salvetti, S., Beecher, D. J., Wong, A. C. L., Ghelardi, E. (2002). Swarming motility in Bacillus cereus and characterization of a fliY mutant impaired in swarm cell differentiation. Microbiology 148: 1785-1794 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»