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acid, which is associated predominantly with Ca
2+
. The major role of the spore
cortex, which consists of a thick layer of species-dependent peptidoglycan, is
to maintain spore heat resistance and dormancy.
Figure 4.1.
Structure of a
Bacillus
spore: spore core (1); inner membrane (2); cortex
(3); outer membrane (4); spore coat (5); exosporium (6); and appendages (7). Insert:
spore coat with two crystalline layers of the outer spore coat.
One of the current scientiic challenges at the intersection of life and
physical sciences is to deine the biophysical pathways of cellular life and,
in particular, to elucidate the complex molecular machines that carry out
cellular and microbial function and propagate the disease. The present
technological and scientiic challenges are to unravel the relationships
between the organization and function of protein complexes at cell and
microbial surfaces, to understand how these complexes evolve during the
bacterial and cellular life cycles and how they respond to environmental
changes, chemical stimulants and therapeutics.
Development of atomic force microscopy (AFM) for probing the
architecture and assembly of single microbial and cellular surfaces at a
nanometre scale under native conditions, and unravelling of its structural
dynamics during their life cycle, and in response to changes in the
environment, has the capacity to signiicantly enhance the current insight
into molecular architecture and structural and environmental variability of
cellular and microbial systems.
In this chapter, we will demonstrate, focusing on the work conducted in
our group in the past several years, the capabilities of AFM in probing the
architecture and assembly of bacterial surfaces and integument structures,
and their evolvement during bacterial life cycles, as well as in response to
environmental changes.
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