For this project titled “Investigating the Morphology of Mycoplasma pneumoniae: Does it Change Shape Under Stress?”, my general research area is bacteriology and morphological studies. I asked the question of whether or not M. pneumoniae cells experience a change in shape when grown in reduced oxygen concentrations, a question very relevant for research on the pathogenesis of M. pneumoniae infections in alternative body sites with oxygen levels lower than the atmospheric level of 21%. My work was conducted by growing cells on coverslips in reduced oxygen (10%) via gas exchange at a manifold, then preparing and viewing coverslips with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). To quantify cell roundness, the major and minor axis of each individual, non-dividing cell body was measured using SPOT Advanced, and analysis of this data took place in Microsoft Excel and RStudio. The major finding from these experiments was the observation of a shape change when M. pneumoniae cells were grown in 10% oxygen; namely, that the cells appear rounder than when grown in 21% oxygen. The difference in average aspect ratio (major axis divided by minor axis) between the two oxygen levels was found to be statistically significant, indicating that the shape change was not due to chance. Additionally, this shape change was found to be reversible, with cells returning to their typical 21% oxygen presentation after 2 hours of exposure to air. With this initial data acquired, we can now proceed to hemadsorption tests to determine attachment organelle function when cell shape is modified. This entire project has been quite relevant for my career goal of being a microscopist as I was able to grow, prepare, and image the cells on my own, which gave me a lot of experience with sample preparation and using the microscope.
Author(s): Joel Pantuso-Iwaskewycz, Microbiology Major
Advisor(s): Mitchell Balish, Department of Microbiology
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