In:
mBio, American Society for Microbiology, Vol. 6, No. 4 ( 2015-09)
Abstract:
Understanding bacterial growth and division is a fundamental problem, and knowledge in this area underlies the treatment of many infectious diseases. Almost all bacteria are surrounded by a macromolecule of peptidoglycan that encloses the cell and maintains shape, and bacterial cells must increase the size of this molecule in order to enlarge themselves. This requires not only the insertion of new peptidoglycan monomers, a process targeted by antibiotics, including penicillin, but also breakage of existing bonds, a potentially hazardous activity for the cell. Using Staphylococcus aureus , we have identified a set of enzymes that are critical for cellular enlargement. We show that these enzymes are required for normal growth and define the mechanism through which cellular enlargement is accomplished, i.e., by breaking bonds in the peptidoglycan, which reduces the stiffness of the cell wall, enabling it to stretch and expand, a process that is likely to be fundamental to many bacteria.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2161-2129
,
2150-7511
DOI:
10.1128/mBio.00660-15
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Society for Microbiology
Publication Date:
2015
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2557172-2
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