Microbial gas vesicles as nanotechnology tools: exploiting intracellular organelles for translational utility in biotechnology, medicine and the environment.

Amy M Hill,George P C Salmond

doi:10.1099/mic.0.000912

Abstract

A range of bacteria and archaea produce gas vesicles as a means to facilitate flotation. These gas vesicles have been purified from a number of species and their applications in biotechnology and medicine are reviewed here. Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 gas vesicles have been engineered to display antigens from eukaryotic, bacterial and viral pathogens. The ability of these recombinant nanoparticles to generate an immune response has been quantified both in vitro and in vivo. These gas vesicles, along with those purified from Anabaena flos-aquae and Bacillus megaterium , have been developed as an acoustic reporter system. This system utilizes the ability of gas vesicles to retain gas within a stable, rigid structure to produce contrast upon exposure to ultrasound. The susceptibility of gas vesicles to collapse when exposed to excess pressure has also been proposed as a biocontrol mechanism to disperse cyanobacterial blooms, providing an environmental function for these structures.

Highlights

Proteinaceous, intracellular organelles that are produced by a range of bacteria and archaea [1]
They were first discovered in cyanobacteria through their tendency to conglomerate in the formation of gas ‘vacuoles’ that refract light [2]
Gas vesicles are under investigation as contrast agents for use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and they have been proposed as a target for disrupting cyanobacterial blooms by exploiting ultrasonic collapse of the vesicles [34, 35]

Summary

Introduction

Proteinaceous, intracellular organelles that are produced by a range of bacteria and archaea [1]. Gas vesicles have been purified from various organisms to determine their structure and protein composition [28,29,30,31,32] and there is a growing interest in the use of gas vesicles for biotechnological, medical and ecological applications. Gas vesicles are under investigation as contrast agents for use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and they have been proposed as a target for disrupting cyanobacterial blooms by exploiting ultrasonic collapse of the vesicles [34, 35].

Results

Conclusion