THE XYLELLA FASTIDIOSA CELL SURFACE

• Author(s): Igo, Michele; Bisson, Linda; Kirkpatrick, Bruce; Walker, Andrew;
• Abstract: A common response of Gram-negative bacteria to environmental stress is to change the composition of their cell surface, particularly the protein composition of their outer membrane. These changes are known to have a profound effect on the sensitivity of Gram-negative bacteria to detergents, antibiotics, and bacteriophages. The goal of this project is to determine how environmental changes influence the protein composition of the Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) outer membrane. Our strategy has been to isolate the outer membrane fraction from Xf cells grown under different environmental conditions. The proteins in this fraction are then separated by one- or two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and their identity established by peptide mass fingerprinting. In this report, I have focused on experiments that examine the Xf outer membrane protein profile using one-dimensional gel electrophoresis. This analysis has allowed us to assign three outer membrane proteins to specific genes on the Xf chromosome. These gels have also allowed us to examine how the composition of the Xf outer membrane changes in response to environmental signals and the physiological state of the bacterial cell.
• Publication Date: Dec 2004
• Journal: 2004 Pierce's Disease Research Symposium