Effect of gamma-ray irradiation on Escherichia coli motility

Abstract: The effects of ionizing radiation on bacteria are generally evaluated from the dose-dependent survival ratio, which is determined by colony-forming ability and mutation rate. The mutagenic damage to cellular DNA induced by radiation has been extensively investigated; however, the effects of irradiation on the cellular machinery in situ remain unclear. In the present work, we irradiated Escherichia coli cells in liquid media with gamma rays from 60Co (in doses up to 8 kGy). The swimming speeds of the cells were measured using a microscope. We found that the swimming speed was unaltered in cells irradiated with a lethal dose of gamma rays. However, the fraction of motile cells decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Similar results were observed when protein synthesis was inhibited by treatment with kanamycin. Evaluation of bacterial swimming speed and the motile fraction after irradiation revealed that some E. coli cells without the potential of cell growth and division remained motile for several hours after irradiation.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Effect of gamma-ray irradiation on Escherichia coli motility ; volume:9 ; number:10 ; year:2014 ; pages:909-914 ; extent:6 ; Open life sciences ; 9, Heft 10 (2014), 909-914 (gesamt 6)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Atsumi, Tatsuo ; Fujimoto, Eriko ; Furuta, Masakazu ; Kato, Mikio

Further information

• DOI: 10.2478/s11535-014-0332-z
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2409211609596.191343943611
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:28 AM CEST