Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yi-Jen Sun, Fan Bai, An-Chi Luo, Xiang-Yu Zhuang, Tsai-Shun Lin, Yu-Cheng Sung, Yu-Ling Shih, Chien-Jung Lo
Summary: The article presents a method for high-resolution analysis of active and inert zones of cell wall growth during bacterial elongation, and formulates a mathematical model to predict the partitioning of cell wall-anchored proteins following cell division.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Yuki Kitahara, Sven van Teeffelen
Summary: To increase in size, bacteria need to enzymatically expand their cell envelopes, particularly the peptidoglycan cell wall. This review focuses on how cells coordinate envelope growth with biomass growth in rod-like bacteria. It discusses the recent finding that surface area, but not cell volume, increases proportionally to mass growth, and explores the mechanistic implementation of this relation through envelope insertion. The review also highlights the recent progress in understanding the regulation of autolysins for cell-wall expansion.
CURRENT OPINION IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Anna Weaver, Atsushi Taguchi, Tobias Dorr
Summary: The coordination between synthesis of new peptidoglycan and turnover/remodeling of existing peptidoglycan in bacteria is still not fully understood due to the diversity and redundancy of the enzymes involved.
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anne Galinier, Clementine Delan-Forino, Elodie Foulquier, Hakima Lakhal, Frederique Pompeo
Summary: Bacteria need to synthesize their cell wall and membrane, with peptidoglycan as the main component of the cell wall. Peptidoglycan is a three-dimensional polymer that helps bacteria resist osmotic pressure, maintain their shape, and protect themselves from the environment. Antibiotics target enzymes involved in cell wall synthesis, including peptidoglycan synthases. This review focuses on recent progress in understanding peptidoglycan synthesis, remodeling, repair, and regulation in two model bacteria: Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis. The comprehensive overview of peptidoglycan biology provided in this review is critical for understanding bacterial adaptation and antibiotic resistance.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Helena Veiga, Ambre Jousselin, Simon Schaper, Bruno M. Saraiva, Leonor B. Marques, Patricia Reed, Joana Wilton, Pedro M. Pereira, Sergio R. Filipe, Mariana G. Pinho
Summary: Unregulated cell cycle progression in bacteria can have lethal consequences. A new study has revealed a link between chromosome replication/segregation and division septum splitting. The protein FtsK, which contains a DNA translocase domain, has been found to regulate the cellular levels of a peptidoglycan hydrolase Sle1. This regulation is crucial for cell separation in the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus.
Article
Microbiology
Sean A. Wilson, Raveen K. J. Tank, Jamie K. Hobbs, Simon J. Foster, Ethan C. Garner
Summary: The only essential function of cell wall hydrolases in B. subtilis is to enable cell growth by expanding the wall, and LytE or CwlO alone is sufficient for this function.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Antoni Planas
Summary: The bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan is a dynamic structure that is constantly synthesized, remodeled, and degraded during bacterial division and growth. Post-synthetic modifications play a regulatory role in peptidoglycan lysis, remodeling, and evasion of the host immune system.
CURRENT MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Jia Mun Chan, Kathleen T. Hackett, Katelynn L. Woodhams, Ryan E. Schaub, Joseph P. Dillard
Summary: Neisseria meningitidis, a human-restricted pathogen known for causing invasive meningococcal disease, has a nonpathogenic life as a harmless colonizer of the human naso- and oropharyngeal space. During its growth, N. meningitidis releases small fragments of peptidoglycan (PG), including a low level of tripeptide PG monomer that can stimulate the human innate immune receptor NOD1. This study shows that N. meningitidis releases more PG-derived peptides than PG monomers, and these peptides activate NOD1. The presence of the proteins AmiC and NlpD is necessary for the generation of these peptides, which are involved in cell separation and survival during infection in human blood.
INFECTION AND IMMUNITY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mohamed Attaibi, Tanneke den Blaauwen
Summary: This review summarizes recent data on the regulation of septal peptidoglycan synthesis and proposes new structural models and interactions. It contributes to the understanding of bacterial fission and its regulatory mechanisms.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Soma Mimura, Tomohiro Shimizu, Shoso Shingubara, Hiroaki Iwaki, Takeshi Ito
Summary: This study aims to identify the mechanism underlying the bactericidal effect of nanostructures, suggesting that they may act by triggering bacterial autolysis.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Svetlana Konstantinova, Alexander Grishin, Alexander Lyashchuk, Irina Vasina, Anna Karyagina, Vladimir Lunin
Summary: Peptidoglycan-degrading enzymes are intensively studied as potential antibacterials, and their modular organization has been used to generate new enzymes through domain exchange. However, the contribution of different domains to bacteriolytic activity is still unclear. This study investigates the influence of ionic strength and pH on the catalytic efficiency and cell binding of lysostaphin, and finds that the combination of domains within lysostaphin leads to increased bacteriolytic activity with increasing NaCl concentration, despite inhibition of catalysis and cell binding by NaCl. This effect is likely mediated by changes in the conformation of bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Microbiology
Tobias Dorr
Summary: Predatory microbes like Bdellovibrio invade and replicate within bacterial cells, ultimately lysing the prey and spreading. A recent study reveals the extensive efforts Bdellovibrio undertakes to remodel host cells, utilizing a secreted cell wall lytic enzyme to maximize the size of the attacker's meal and dissemination. This study provides new insights into bacterial predator-prey dynamics and showcases the co-option of an endogenous cell wall turnover enzyme as a warhead to enhance prey consumption.
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Wanda M. Figueroa-Cuilan, Oihane Irazoki, Marissa Feeley, Erika Smith, Trung Nguyen, Felipe Cava, Erin D. Goley
Summary: The researchers developed a toolkit to study the biology of R. parkeri, an important human pathogen. They analyzed the cell wall composition and morphology of R. parkeri and found unique features. Using fluorescence microscopy, they quantified R. parkeri morphology in live host cells and demonstrated the localization of fluorescence fusions. They also developed an imaging-based assay to evaluate population growth kinetics and showed that the actin homologue MreB is required for R. parkeri growth and shape.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Sara B. Hernandez, Felipe Cava
Summary: Peptidoglycan has been a key target for antibiotics in the battle against pathogenic bacteria, with recent advancements in techniques providing valuable resources for experts and newcomers in the field. This essential bacterial structure continues to be a focus of research, with improved understanding of its composition, architecture, and dynamics.
CURRENT OPINION IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ilana Gabanyi, Gabriel Lepousez, Richard Wheeler, Alba Vieites-Prado, Antoine Nissant, Sebastien Wagner, Carine Moigneu, Sophie Dulauroy, Samia Hicham, Bernadette Polomack, Florine Verny, Philip Rosenstiel, Nicolas Renier, Ivo Gomperts Boneca, Gerard Eberl, Pierre-Marie Lledo
Summary: Gut bacteria can influence feeding behavior and body temperature control by directly sensing bacterial cell wall components through brain neurons.
