PPLO Cell Full Form
What is the full form of PPLO Cell?
We have always wondered about the earth's smallest unbound creature. Well this section will discuss one such cell that has been termed as PPLO or, to say, ‘Pleuropneumonia-like organisms’. This tiniest single-celled prokaryotic organism can live without oxygen on earth, with its size ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 mm in diameter. A very familiar term related to PPLO is mycoplasma. They are devoid of cell walls and evolve by forming colonies that resemble tiny fried eggs.
Discovery of PPLO Cell
In 1930, Pasteur dealt with cattle that suffered from pleuropneumonia, during this phenomenon, he discovered the PPLO cell. These are disease-causing organisms to their host and hence are termed pathogens for mammals during the 1898 outbreak.
PPLO Cell structure
A common cell of PPLO will contain a thick plasma membrane and vacuoles within the granulated ground material of cytoplasm. The end of the cell organelle consists of an extra bud-like structure termed as a bleb. Protein synthesis within the cell requires ribosomes which are encircled and present in the nuclear region with genetic material such as DNA. A PPLO cell lacks a cell wall, while it contains cell structures like the nucleus, golgi apparatus, and ribosomes.
Where is PPLO found?
PPLO have been found in various habitats within the bodies of humans as well as animals, majorly residing on mucus-laden surfaces and the urogenital tract and affecting the joints of animals. PPLO was also found at large within the pleural fluids and synovial fluids of calves that suffered pneumonia.
Characteristics of PPLO Cell
(1) PPLO cells are prokaryotic in nature and therefore lack a cell wall; moreover, they do not have any distinct nucleus or membrane-bound organelles.
(2) Absence of cell walls makes them less vulnerable to vivid beta-lactam antibiotics like penicillin and rifampicin. Also, genetic mutation helps them to resist these antibiotics.
(3) PPLO are more susceptible to disorderly actions over cell membranes.
(4) They tend to break very easily and are delicate and soft in nature hence termed mollicutes.
(5) Reproduction usually occurs through budding or fission, creating small bud-like tiny organisms attached.
(6) Can live as an anaerobic bacterium that is without any presence of oxygen.
Significance of PPLO
A pleuropneumonia-like organism known as PPLO is found in the pleural fluid of animals.