The initiation and growth of bacterial spinae

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Abstract
Marine pseudomonad D71 (NCMB 2018) can be maintained in either the unspined or spined state depending on the salinity, pH, and temperature. Shifting bacteria from conditions restrictive for spination to those permissive for spination results in the production of spinae after a lag of less than 1 h. The percentage of spined bacteria in the population increases from 0 to nearly 100% in about one generation period (approximately 75 min). Concomitantly, the average number of spinae per bacterium increases linearly to reach a maximum in about 6 h. Spina bases are first observed at either the pole or in a central location at sites where division constriction has either occurred or is about to occur. Spinae attain full length in about 15 min and grow by addition of spinin subunits to their distal end. Inhibition studies have shown that whereas there is no significant pool of protein the mRNA is stable and is present in bacteria 30 min before spina structures are detected. Many similarities exist between spinin and outer membrane proteins and the possible significance of this is discussed.