There are in bacterial cells several recognized dynamic cytoskeletal structures with essential roles in bacterial development and cell cycle progression. Many regulatory proteins and multiprotein complexes perform their functions at specific times and places in the cell. The goal is to visualize the structure of the unperturbed cytoplasm, the distribution of ribosomes, the location in time and space of other large macromolecules and complexes, and to provide physical evidence of the state and packaging of DNA at different stages of the cell cycle. Recent work shows viral infection process in ARMAN, an ultra-small archaeon, as they occur in the wild. The ultra-small cell and genome size (1 Mb), combined with direct, but apparently non-obligatory inter-species interactions, indicate complex and previously undescribed ecological behavior. These features, in addition to large internal tubular organelles and many genes previously only affiliated with Crenarchaea or Bacteria, illustrate novel biology in organisms branching near the Crenarchaea-Euryarchaea divide.
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Luef, B., Frischkorn, K. R., Wrighton, K. C., Holman, H-Y., Birarda, G., Thomas, B. C., Singh, A., Williams, K. H., Siegerist, C. E., Tringe, S. G., Downing, K. H., Comolli, L. R., and Banfield, J. F. (2015). Diverse uncultivated ultra-small bacterial cells in groundwater.Nature Communications 6, Article number: 6372.
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Comolli, L. R., and Banfield, J. F. (2014). Inter-species interconnections in acid mine drainage microbial communities. Front. Microbiol. 5(367). doi:10.3389/fmicb.2014.00367
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Luef, B., Fakra, S. C., Csencsits, R., Wrighton, K. C.,
Williams, K. H., Wilkins, M. J., Downing, K. H., Long, P.
E., Comolli, L. R., and Banfield, J. F. (2012). Iron-reducing
bacteria accumulate ferric oxyhydroxide nanoparticle aggregates that
may support planktonic growth. ISMEJ,7, 338-350, doi: 10.1038/ismej.2012.103.
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Comolli, L. R., Luef, B., and Chan, C. S. (2011). High resolution 2D and 3D cryo-TEM reveals structural adaptations of two stalk-forming bacteria to an Fe-oxidizing lifestyle. Environ Microbiol, 3(11), 2915<96>2929. doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2011.02567.x.
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Yi-Chun Yeh,
Comolli, L. R., E., Downing, K. H., McAdams, H.H., Shapiro, L. (2010)
The Caulobacter Tol-Pal complex is essential for outer membrane integrity and the positioning of a polar localization factor
. J. Bacteriol., Vol 192 (19), 4801-4811. doi:10.1128/JB.00607-10
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Baker, Brett J., Comolli, Luis R., Dick, Gregory J., Hauser, Loren, Land, Miriam, VerBerkmoes, Nathan C., Hettich, Robert L., and Banfield Jillian F. (2010). Enigmatic, ultra-small uncultivated Archaea. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 107 (19), 8806-8811. doi:10.1073/pnas.0914470107.
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Goley, Erin D., Comolli, Luis R., Fero, Katherine E., Downing, Kenneth H., and Shapiro, Lucy (2010). DipM links peptidoglycan remodeling to outer membrane organization in Caulobacter. Mol. Micro., 77(1), 56-73. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2958.2010.07222.x
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Bowman, G. R., Comolli, L. R., Gaietta, G. M., Fero, M., Hong, S.-H., Jones, Y., Lee, J. H., Downing, K. H., Ellisman, M. H., McAdams, H. H. and Shapiro, L. (2010), Caulobacter PopZ forms a polar subdomain dictating sequential changes in pole composition and function. Molecular Microbiology, 76(1), 173-189. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2958.2010.07088.x
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Moussavi, F., Heitz, G., Amat, F., Comolli, L.R., Koller, D., and Horowitz, M. (2009). 3D Segmentation of Cell Boundaries from Noisy Electron Tomography Volumes. J. Struct. Biol. 17(1), 134-145. doi:10.1016/j.jsb.2009.12.015.
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Holman, N. H-Y., Wozei, E., Lin, Z., Comolli, L. R., Ball, D. A., Downing, K. H., Borglin, S., Fields, M., Hazen, T.C. (2009). Real-Time Molecular Monitoring of Chemical Environment in Obligate Anaerobes during Oxygen-Stress Adaptive Response. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 106 (31), 12599-12604. doi:10.1073/pnas.0902070106.
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Comolli, L. R.,
Baker, B., Downing, K.H., Siegerist, C. E., and Banfield, J. (2009)
Three-dimensional analysis of the structure and ecology of a novel,
ultra-small archaeon. ISME Journal, Vol 3(2):159-167. doi:10.1038/ismej.2008.99
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Bowman, G.,
Comolli, L. R., Zhu J., Eckart M., Koenig M., Downing, K. H., Moerner W.E., Earnest T., Shapiro, L. (2008) A polymeric
protein anchors the chromosomal origin/ParB complex at a bacterial
cell pole. Cell, 134,
945-955. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2008.07.015
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Comolli, L. R., Judd, E.M., Chen, J.C., Downing, K.H., Moerner W.E.,
and McAdams, H.H. (2005) Distinct constrictive processes, separated
in time and space, divide Caulobacter inner and outer
membranes.Journal of Bacteriology, Vol 187, Issue 20,
6874-6882. Featured as journal cover and editorial review article. doi:10.1128/JB.187.20.6874-6882.2005i
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Downing, K.H., Comolli, L.R., and Holman H.-Y. (2005) Electron
Tomography in the Study of Bacterial Structure and Function.
Microscopy Today, Vol 13 (1), 1184-1186. doi:10.1017/S1431927604882953