peptidoglycan
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRegulation of the Peptidoglycan Polymerase Activity of PBP1b by Antagonist Actions of the Core Divisome Proteins FtsBLQ and FtsNBacterial cell division is governed by a multiprotein complex called divisome, which facilitates a precise cell wall synthesis at midcell and daughter cell separation. Protein-protein interactions and activity studies using different combinations of the septum synthesis core of the divisome revealed that the glycosyltransferase activity of PBP1b is repressed by FtsBLQ and that the presence of FtsN or LpoB suppresses this inhibition....
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis Targets Bacteria with Laterally Acquired NlpC/P60 Peptidoglycan HydrolasesTrichomonas vaginalis is a parasitic protozoan of the human urogenital tract that causes trichomoniasis, a very common sexually transmitted disease. Despite residing extracellularly and in close association with the vaginal bacteria (i.e., the microbiota), very little is known about the nature of the parasite-bacterium interactions. Our study showed that this parasite...
- Research ArticleChlamydia trachomatis dapF Encodes a Bifunctional Enzyme Capable of Both d-Glutamate Racemase and Diaminopimelate Epimerase Activities
Here we describe one of the last remaining “missing” steps in peptidoglycan synthesis in pathogenic Chlamydia species, the synthesis of d-glutamate. We have determined that the diaminopimelate epimerase (DapF) encoded by Chlamydia trachomatis is capable of carrying out both the epimerization of DAP and the pyridoxal phosphate-dependent racemization of glutamate. Enzyme promiscuity is thought to...
- Research ArticleStress-Induced Reorganization of the Mycobacterial Membrane Domain