peptidoglycan
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...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPeptidoglycan Remodeling Enables Escherichia coli To Survive Severe Outer Membrane Assembly DefectIn Gram-negative bacteria, the outer membrane protects the cell against many toxic molecules, and the peptidoglycan layer provides protection against osmotic challenges, allowing bacterial cells to survive in changing environments. Maintaining cell envelope integrity is therefore a question of life or death for a bacterial cell. Here we show that Escherichia coli...
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...