peptidoglycan
Minireview | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyBacterial Cell Wall Quality Control during Environmental StressNearly all bacteria are encased in a peptidoglycan cell wall, an essential polysaccharide structure that protects the cell from osmotic rupture and reinforces cell shape. The integrity of this protective barrier must be maintained across the diversity of environmental conditions wherein bacteria replicate. However, at the cell surface, the cell wall and its synthesis machinery face unique challenges that threaten their integrity....
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRoles of ATP Hydrolysis by FtsEX and Interaction with FtsA in Regulation of Septal Peptidoglycan Synthesis and HydrolysisCytokinesis in Gram-negative bacteria requires coordinated invagination of the three layers of the cell envelope; otherwise, cells become sensitive to hydrophobic antibiotics and can even undergo cell lysis. In E. coli, the ABC transporter FtsEX couples the synthesis and hydrolysis of the stress-bearing peptidoglycan layer at the septum by interacting with...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe NtrYX Two-Component System Regulates the Bacterial Cell EnvelopeThe bacterial cell envelope provides many important functions. It protects cells from harsh environments, serves as a selective permeability barrier, houses bioenergetic functions, defines sensitivity to antibacterial agents, and plays a crucial role in biofilm formation, symbiosis, and virulence. Despite the important roles of this cellular compartment, we lack a detailed understanding of the biosynthesis and remodeling of the cell...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Min System Disassembles FtsZ Foci and Inhibits Polar Peptidoglycan Remodeling in Bacillus subtilisMany bacteria grow and divide by binary fission in which a mother cell divides into two identical daughter cells. To produce two equally sized daughters, the division machinery, guided by FtsZ, must dynamically localize to the midcell each cell cycle. Here, we quantitatively analyzed FtsZ dynamics during growth and found that the Min system of Bacillus subtilis is...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyChlamydial MreB Directs Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Synthesis in Escherichia coli in the Absence of FtsZ ActivityThe study of Chlamydia growth and cell division is complicated by its obligate intracellular nature and biphasic lifestyle. Chlamydia also lacks the universal division protein FtsZ. We employed the cell division system of Escherichia coli as a surrogate to identify chlamydial cell division proteins. We demonstrate that chlamydial MreB, together with...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyBacterial Swarming Reduces Proteus mirabilis and Vibrio parahaemolyticus Cell Stiffness and Increases β-Lactam SusceptibilityProteus mirabilis and Vibrio parahaemolyticus are bacteria that infect humans. To adapt to environmental changes, these bacteria alter their cell morphology and move collectively to access new sources of nutrients in a process referred to as “swarming.” We found that changes in the composition and...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA SpoIID Homolog Cleaves Glycan Strands at the Chlamydial Division SeptumChlamydiales species are obligate intracellular bacteria and important human pathogens that have a minimal division machinery lacking the proteins that are essential for bacterial division in other species, such as FtsZ. Chlamydial division requires synthesis of peptidoglycan, which forms a ring at the division septum and is rapidly turned over. However, little is known of peptidoglycan degradation, because many peptidoglycan-...
Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyChecks and Balances in Bacterial Cell DivisionAssembly of the division machinery in Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria occurs in two time-dependent steps. First, the FtsZ proto-ring localizes at midcell including some FtsN molecules.
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCardiolipin Alters Rhodobacter sphaeroides Cell Shape by Affecting Peptidoglycan Precursor BiosynthesisThe phospholipid composition of the cell membrane influences the spatial and temporal biochemistry of cells. We studied molecular mechanisms connecting membrane composition to cell morphology in the model bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides. The peptidoglycan (PG) layer of the cell wall is a dominant component of cell mechanical properties; consequently, it has been an...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyEndopeptidase Regulation as a Novel Function of the Zur-Dependent Zinc Starvation ResponseBacteria encode a variety of adaptations that enable them to survive during zinc starvation, a condition which is encountered both in natural environments and inside the human host. In Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the diarrheal disease cholera, we have identified a novel member of this zinc starvation response, a cell wall hydrolase that retains function...