Membrane-partitioned cell wall synthesis in mycobacteria.

TitleMembrane-partitioned cell wall synthesis in mycobacteria.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2021
AuthorsGarcía-Heredia A, Kado T, Sein CE, Puffal J, Osman SH, Judd J, Gray TA, Morita YS, M Siegrist S
JournalElife
Volume10
Date Published2021 Feb 05
ISSN2050-084X
Abstract

Many antibiotics target the assembly of cell wall peptidoglycan, an essential, heteropolymeric mesh that encases most bacteria. In rod-shaped bacteria, cell wall elongation is spatially precise yet relies on limited pools of lipid-linked precursors that generate and are attracted to membrane disorder. By tracking enzymes, substrates, and products of peptidoglycan biosynthesis in , we show that precursors are made in plasma membrane domains that are laterally and biochemically distinct from sites of cell wall assembly. Membrane partitioning likely contributes to robust, orderly peptidoglycan synthesis, suggesting that these domains help template peptidoglycan synthesis. The cell wall-organizing protein DivIVA and the cell wall itself promote domain homeostasis. These data support a model in which the peptidoglycan polymer feeds back on its membrane template to maintain an environment conducive to directional synthesis. Our findings are applicable to rod-shaped bacteria that are phylogenetically distant from , indicating that horizontal compartmentalization of precursors may be a general feature of bacillary cell wall biogenesis.

DOI10.7554/eLife.60263
Alternate JournalElife
PubMed ID33544079
PubMed Central IDPMC7864634
Grant ListR21 AI144748 / NH / NIH HHS / United States
Honors Fellowship / / Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León /
DP2 AI138238 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
R03 AI140259-01 / NH / NIH HHS / United States
Postdoctoral Fellowship / / Uehara Memorial Foundation /
R03 AI140259 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
U01 CA221230 / NH / NIH HHS / United States
Science Without Borders Fellowship (0328-13-8) / / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior /
R01 AI097191 / NH / NIH HHS / United States
R21 AI144748 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
R01 AI097191 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
U01 CA221230 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
DP2 AI138238 / NH / NIH HHS / United States