A Structural Study ofEscherichia coliCells Using anIn SituLiquid Chamber TEM Technology

Abstract

Studying cell microstructures and their behaviors under living conditions has been a challenging subject in microbiology. In this work,in situliquid chamber TEM was used to study structures ofEscherichia colicells in aqueous solutions at a nanometer-scale resolution. Most of the cells remained intact under electron beam irradiation, and nanoscale structures were observed during the TEM imaging. The analysis revealed structures of pili surrounding theE. colicells; the movements of the pili in the liquid were also observed during thein situtests. This technology also allowed the observation of features of the nucleoid in theE. colicells. Overall,in situTEM can be applied as a valuable tool to study real-time microscopic structures and processes in microbial cells residing in native aqueous solutions.