Lateral mobility of membrane-bound antibodies on the surface of Acholeplasma laidlawii: evidence for virus-induced cell fusion in a procaryote.

Dynamic processes on the membrane of the procaryotic cell Acholeplasma laidlawii have been studied by means of immunoelectron microscopy. Colloidal gold-labeled anti-A. laidlawii antibodies were used as electron-dense markers. This method allowed the demonstration of temperature-dependent lateral mobility of membrane-bound immunoglobulins. By using two different sizes of gold grains to differentiate cells from two different cell populations, virus-induced fusion of procaryotic cells could be shown for the first time.