scholarly journals Modulation of peptidoglycan synthesis by recycled cell wall tetrapeptides

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara B. Hernández ◽  
Tobias Dörr ◽  
Matthew K. Waldor ◽  
Felipe Cava
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacterial Cell ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Cell Wall Assembly ◽  
Peptidoglycan Synthesis ◽  
Cross Linkage ◽  
Recycling Pathway ◽  
Wall Assembly ◽  
Substrate Competition

ABSTRACTThe bacterial cell wall is made of peptidoglycan (PG), a polymer that is essential for maintenance of cell shape and survival. During growth, bacteria remodel their PG, releasing fragments that are predominantly re-internalized by the cell, where they are recycled for synthesis of new PG. Although the PG recycling pathway is widely conserved, its components are not essential and its roles in cell wall homeostasis are not well-understood. Here, we identified LdcV, a Vibrio cholerae L,D-carboxypeptidase that cleaves the terminal D-Alanine from recycled murotetrapeptides. In the absence of ldcV, recycled tetrapeptides accumulated in the cytosol, leading to two toxic consequences for the cell wall. First, incorporation of tetrapeptide-containing PG precursors into the cell wall led to reduction in D,D-cross-linkage between stem peptides, diminishing PG integrity. Second, tetrapeptide accumulation led to a decrease in canonical UDP-pentapeptide precursors, reducing PG synthesis. Thus, LdcV and the recycling pathway promote optimal cell wall assembly and composition. Furthermore, Ldc substrate preference for murotetrapeptides containing canonical (D-Alanine) vs. non-canonical (D-Methionine) D-amino acids is conserved, suggesting that accumulation of tetrapeptide recycling intermediates may modulate PG homeostasis in environments enriched in non-canonical-muropeptides via substrate competition.

scholarly journals Bacterial Cell Wall Quality Control during Environmental Stress

mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Mueller ◽  
Petra Anne Levin
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Bacterial Cell ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Bacterial Cell Wall ◽  
Peptidoglycan Synthesis ◽  
Peptidoglycan Cell Wall

ABSTRACT Single-celled organisms must adapt their physiology to persist and propagate across a wide range of environmental conditions. The growth and division of bacterial cells depend on continuous synthesis of an essential extracellular barrier: the peptidoglycan cell wall, a polysaccharide matrix that counteracts turgor pressure and confers cell shape. Unlike many other essential processes and structures within the bacterial cell, the peptidoglycan cell wall and its synthesis machinery reside at the cell surface and are thus uniquely vulnerable to the physicochemical environment and exogenous threats. In addition to the diversity of stressors endangering cell wall integrity, defects in peptidoglycan metabolism require rapid repair in order to prevent osmotic lysis, which can occur within minutes. Here, we review recent work that illuminates mechanisms that ensure robust peptidoglycan metabolism in response to persistent and acute environmental stress. Advances in our understanding of bacterial cell wall quality control promise to inform the development and use of antimicrobial agents that target the synthesis and remodeling of this essential macromolecule. IMPORTANCE Nearly 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. Directly exposed to the extracellular environment, the peptidoglycan synthesis machinery encounters dynamic and extreme physicochemical conditions, which may impair enzymatic activity and critical protein-protein interactions. Biotic and abiotic stressors—including host defenses, cell wall active antibiotics, and predatory bacteria and phage—also jeopardize peptidoglycan integrity by introducing lesions, which must be rapidly repaired to prevent cell lysis. Here, we review recently discovered mechanisms that promote robust peptidoglycan synthesis during environmental and acute stress and highlight the opportunities and challenges for the development of cell wall active therapeutics.

scholarly journals Assemblies of DivIVA Mark Sites for Hyphal Branching and Can Establish New Zones of Cell Wall Growth in Streptomyces coelicolor

2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (22) ◽  
pp. 7579-7583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antje Marie Hempel ◽  
Sheng-bing Wang ◽  
Michal Letek ◽  
José A. Gil ◽  
Klas Flärdh
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Streptomyces Coelicolor ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Cell Wall Assembly ◽  
Peptidoglycan Synthesis ◽  
Wall Growth ◽  
Lateral Branches ◽  
Wall Assembly ◽  
Time Lapse Imaging

ABSTRACT Time-lapse imaging of Streptomyces hyphae revealed foci of the essential protein DivIVA at sites where lateral branches will emerge. Overexpression experiments showed that DivIVA foci can trigger establishment of new zones of cell wall assembly, suggesting a key role of DivIVA in directing peptidoglycan synthesis and cell shape in Streptomyces.

Bacterial cell wall assembly: still an attractive antibacterial target

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 167-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy D.H. Bugg ◽  
Darren Braddick ◽  
Christopher G. Dowson ◽  
David I. Roper
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacterial Cell ◽  
Bacterial Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Wall Assembly ◽  
Wall Assembly ◽  
Antibacterial Target

scholarly journals The mycobacterial cell wall partitions the plasma membrane to organize its own synthesis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alam García-Heredia ◽  
Takehiro Kado ◽  
Caralyn E. Sein ◽  
Julia Puffal ◽  
Sarah H. Osman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Domains ◽  
Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis ◽  
Cell Wall Assembly ◽  
Peptidoglycan Synthesis ◽  
Cell Wall Biogenesis ◽  
Mycobacterial Cell Wall ◽  
Wall Assembly ◽  
Made In

AbstractMany antibiotics target the assembly of cell wall peptidoglycan, an essential, heteropolymeric mesh that encases most bacteria. Different species have characteristic subcellular sites of peptidoglycan synthesis that they must carefully maintain for surface integrity and, ultimately, viability. In rod-shaped bacteria, cell wall elongation is spatially precise yet relies on a limited pool of lipid-linked precursors that generate and are attracted to membrane disorder. By tracking enzymes, substrates and products of peptidoglycan biosynthesis in Mycobacterium smegmatis, we show that precursors are made in plasma membrane domains that are laterally and biochemically distinct from sites of cell wall assembly. Membrane partitioning is required for robust, orderly peptidoglycan synthesis, indicating that these domains help template peptidoglycan synthesis. The cell wall-organizing protein DivIVA and the cell wall itself are essential for domain homeostasis. Thus, the peptidoglycan polymer feeds back on its membrane template to maintain an environment conducive to directional synthesis. We further show that our findings are applicable to rod-shaped bacteria that are phylogenetically distant from M. smegmatis, demonstrating that horizontal compartmentalization of precursors is a general feature of bacillary cell wall biogenesis.

scholarly journals Peptidoglycan precursor synthesis along the sidewall of pole-growing mycobacteria

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alam García-Heredia ◽  
Amol Arunrao Pohane ◽  
Emily S Melzer ◽  
Caleb R Carr ◽  
Taylor J Fiolek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Label Cell ◽  
Cell Wall Assembly ◽  
Support Cell ◽  
Peptidoglycan Synthesis ◽  
Precursor Synthesis ◽  
Alanine Synthesis ◽  
A Site ◽  
Wall Assembly

Rod-shaped mycobacteria expand from their poles, yet d-amino acid probes label cell wall peptidoglycan in this genus at both the poles and sidewall. We sought to clarify the metabolic fates of these probes. Monopeptide incorporation was decreased by antibiotics that block peptidoglycan synthesis or l,d-transpeptidation and in an l,d-transpeptidase mutant. Dipeptides complemented defects in d-alanine synthesis or ligation and were present in lipid-linked peptidoglycan precursors. Characterizing probe uptake pathways allowed us to localize peptidoglycan metabolism with precision: monopeptide-marked l,d-transpeptidase remodeling and dipeptide-marked synthesis were coincident with mycomembrane metabolism at the poles, septum and sidewall. Fluorescent pencillin-marked d,d-transpeptidation around the cell perimeter further suggested that the mycobacterial sidewall is a site of cell wall assembly. While polar peptidoglycan synthesis was associated with cell elongation, sidewall synthesis responded to cell wall damage. Peptidoglycan editing along the sidewall may support cell wall robustness in pole-growing mycobacteria.

scholarly journals A widespread family of bacterial cell wall assembly proteins

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (24) ◽  
pp. 4931-4941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshikazu Kawai ◽  
Jon Marles-Wright ◽  
Robert M Cleverley ◽  
Robyn Emmins ◽  
Shu Ishikawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacterial Cell ◽  
Bacterial Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Wall Assembly ◽  
Wall Assembly ◽  
Assembly Proteins

scholarly journals Optimization of a Benzothiazole Indolene Scaffold Targeting Bacterial Cell Wall Assembly

2020 ◽  
Vol Volume 14 ◽  
pp. 567-574
Author(s):  
Jay Chauhan ◽  
Wenbo Yu ◽  
Steven Cardinale ◽  
Timothy J Opperman ◽  
Alexander D MacKerell Jr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacterial Cell ◽  
Bacterial Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Wall Assembly ◽  
Wall Assembly
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