An Uncommon Role for Cyclic Enterobacterial Common Antigen in Maintaining Outer Membrane Integrity

Although discovered over 50 years ago, the physiological role of enterobacterial common antigen, a surface antigen produced by all members of the Enterobacteriaceae, has been poorly understood. In the work of Mitchell et al. (mBio 9: e01321-18, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01321-18), the cyclized version of enterobacterial common antigen has been shown to play a role in maintaining the outer membrane permeability barrier, possibly through the inner membrane protein YhdP. This work also provides the tests needed to separate true effects from the numerous possible artifacts possible with mutations in enterobacterial common antigen synthesis.