Mesosome

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Mesosomes are invaginations of the plasma membrane of bacteria , which are presumably produced by chemical fixation . They were observed for the first time in 1953 with electron microscopic specimens. Various functions were then proposed in the 1960s, until it became apparent in the late 1970s that they were probably artifacts .

Mesosomes form in bacterial cells that have been chemically fixed, but not during cryofixation.

Mesosomes on Gram-positive bacteria were observed. The name goes back to a work from 1959. It has been suggested that the mesosomes function as organelles in various cellular processes, such as those responsible for the construction of the cell wall during cell division , the duplication of the bacterial chromosome or as a site for oxidative phosphorylation .

In the late 1970s, data began to accumulate suggesting that mesosomes were structures that were only created by chemical fixation, since they did not appear in cells that were fixed by other methods. With advances in electron microscopic fixation methods (cryofixation and freeze substitution), several studies have found that mesosomes do not occur in living cells. However, some researchers felt that the data were inconclusive and that mesosomes may not be artifacts in all cases.

In 2000, mesosome-like invaginations were observed on bacteria exposed to antibacterial peptides, so-called defensins , and in 2007 on those treated with certain antibiotics. The appearance of these mesosome-like structures may be a result of damage to the plasma membrane or cell wall from these chemicals.

The “discovery” of the mesosomes and their later exposure as an artifact served in the philosophy of science as a practical example of the process of falsifying a scientific idea or hypothesis . Using this example, one could study how the scientific community carried out this test procedure and finally rejected the original hypothesis.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Allchin, D .: The Epistemology of Error . In: Philosophy of Science Association Meetings, Vancouver, November . 2000.
  2. ↑ Nanninga N: The mesosome of Bacillus subtilis as affected by chemical and physical fixation . In: J. Cell Biol. . 48, No. 1, 1971, pp. 219-24. PMID 4993484 .
  3. ^ A b Silva MT, Sousa JC, Polónia JJ, Macedo MA, Parente AM: Bacterial mesosomes. Real structures or artifacts? . In: Biochim. Biophys. Acta . 443, No. 1, 1976, pp. 92-105. PMID 821538 .
  4. ^ Robertson, JD: The ultra structure of cell membranes and their derivatives, Biochem . In: Soc. Syrup . 1959, p. 3.
  5. ^ Suganuma A: Studies on the fine structure of Staphylococcus aureus . In: J Electron Microsc (Tokyo) . 15, No. 4, 1966, pp. 257-61. PMID 5984369 .
  6. ^ Pontefract RD, Bergeron G, Thatcher FS: Mesosomes in Escherichia coli . In: J. Bacteriol. . 97, No. 1, 1969, pp. 367-75. PMID 4884819 .
  7. ↑ Ebersold HR, Cordier JL, Lüthy P: Bacterial mesosomes: method dependent artifacts . In: Arch. Microbiol. . 130, No. 1, 1981, pp. 19-22. PMID 6796029 .
  8. ^ Higgins ML, Tsien HC, Daneo-Moore L: Organization of mesosomes in fixed and unfixed cells . In: J. Bacteriol. . 127, No. 3, 1976, pp. 1519-23. PMID 821934 .
  9. ↑ Ryter A: Contribution of new cryomethods to a better knowledge of bacterial anatomy . In: Ann. Inst. Pasteur Microbiol. . 139, No. 1, 1988, pp. 33-44. PMID 3289587 .
  10. ↑ Nanninga N, Brakenhoff GJ, Meijer M, Woldringh CL: Bacterial anatomy in retrospect and prospect . In: Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek . 50, No. 5-6, 1984, pp. 433-60. PMID 6442119 .
  11. ↑ Dubochet J, McDowall AW, Quantity B, Schmid EN, Lickfeld KG: Electron microscopy of frozen-hydrated bacteria . In: J. Bacteriol. . 155, No. 1, 1983, pp. 381-90. PMID 6408064 .
  12. ^ John F. Stolz (1991) "Structure of Phototrophic Prokaryotes" CRC Press ISBN 0-8493-4814-5
  13. ↑ Murata, K., Kawai, S .; Mikami, B .; Hashimoto, W .: Superchannel of Bacteria: Biological Significance and New Horizons . In: Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry . 2008, p. 801080710. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  14. ^ Friedrich CL, Moyles D, Beveridge TJ, Hancock RE: Antibacterial action of structurally diverse cationic peptides on gram-positive bacteria . In: Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. . 44, No. 8, 2000, pp. 2086-92. PMID 10898680 .
  15. ↑ Santhana Raj L, Hing HL, Baharudin O, et al : Mesosomes are a definite event in antibiotic-treated Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 . In: Trop Biomed . 24, No. 1, 2007, pp. 105-9. PMID 17568383 .
  16. ↑ Balkwill DL, Stevens SE: Effects of penicillin G on mesosome-like structures in Agmenellum quadruplicatum . In: Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. . 17, No. 3, 1980, pp. 506-9. PMID 6775592 .
  17. ^ Culp, S .: Defending Robustness: The Bacterial Mesosome as a Test Case . In: PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association . 1994, 1994, pp. 46-57. Retrieved March 7, 2008.
  18. ^ Rasmussen, N .: Evolving Scientific Epistemologies and the Artifacts of Empirical Philosophy of Science: A Reply Concerning Mesosomes . In: Biology and Philosophy . 16, No. 5, 2001, pp. 627-652. Retrieved March 7, 2008.