Fig. 7

The bacteriocin PLNC8 αβ damages the membrane of P. gingivalis. Bacterial ultrastructure was examined using a Hitachi HT 7700 transmission electron microscope and showed typical coccobacillus shapes of untreated P. gingivalis, where the outer membrane (OM) and cytoplasmic membrane (CM) could be clearly distinguished. Treatment with PLNC8 αβ (1:2) efficiently damaged ccells by causing rupture of the bacterial membrane and leakage of intracellular content (red arrow head), eventually resulting in completely detached outer membrane (black arrow heads). Scale bar = 200 nm