Single cell cryo-soft X-ray tomography shows that each Chlamydia trachomatis inclusion is a unique community of bacteria

DOI: 10.3390/life11080842

Authors: Patrick Phillips (Diamond Light Source; Research Complex at Harwell; University of Oxford) , James M. Parkhurst (Diamond Light Source; The Rosalind Franklin Institute) , Ilias Kounatidis (Diamond Light Source) , Chidinma Okolo (Diamond Light Source) , Thomas M. Fish (Diamond Light Source) , James H. Naismith (Research Complex at Harwell; The Rosalind Franklin Institute) , Martin A. Walsh (Diamond Light Source; Research Complex at Harwell) , Maria Harkiolaki (Diamond Light Source; Research Complex at Harwell) , Maud Dumoux (Diamond Light Source; Research Complex at Harwell; The Rosalind Franklin Institute)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Life , VOL 11

State: Published (Approved)
Published: August 2021

Abstract: Chlamydiae are strict intracellular pathogens residing within a specialised membrane-bound compartment called the inclusion. Therefore, each infected cell can, be considered as a single entity where bacteria form a community within the inclusion. It remains unclear as to how the population of bacteria within the inclusion influences individual bacterium. The life cycle of Chlamydia involves transitioning between the invasive elementary bodies (EBs) and replicative reticulate bodies (RBs). We have used cryo-soft X-ray tomography to observe individual inclusions, an approach that combines 40 nm spatial resolution and large volume imaging (up to 16 µm). Using semi-automated segmentation pipeline, we considered each inclusion as an individual bacterial niche. Within each inclusion, we identifyed and classified different forms of the bacteria and confirmed the recent finding that RBs have a variety of volumes (small, large and abnormal). We demonstrate that the proportions of these different RB forms depend on the bacterial concentration in the inclusion. We conclude that each inclusion operates as an autonomous community that influences the characteristics of individual bacteria within the inclusion.

Journal Keywords: Chalmydia; cryo-soft X ray tomography; community; single cell

Diamond Keywords: Bacteria

Subject Areas: Biology and Bio-materials, Technique Development


Instruments: B24-Cryo Soft X-ray Tomography

Added On: 26/08/2021 09:19

Documents:
life-11-00842.pdf

Discipline Tags:

Pathogens Infectious Diseases Health & Wellbeing Technique Development - Life Sciences & Biotech Life Sciences & Biotech

Technical Tags:

Imaging Tomography Cryo-soft X-ray Tomography (Cryo-SXT)