Spatial segregation and aging of metabolic processes underlie phenotypic heterogeneity in mycobacteria.

ABSTRACT: Individual cells within clonal populations of mycobacteria vary in size, growth rate, and antibiotic susceptibility. Heterogeneity is, in part, determined by LamA, a protein found exclusively in mycobacteria. LamA localizes to sites of new cell wall synthesis where it recruits proteins important for polar growth and establishing asymmetry. Here, we report that in addition to this function, LamA interacts with complexes involved in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) at a subcellular location distinct from cell wall synthesis. Importantly, heterogeneity depends on a unique extension of the mycobacterial ATP synthase, and LamA mediates the coupling between ATP production and cell growth in single cells. Strikingly, as single cells age, concentrations of proteins important for oxidative phosph

SUBMITTER: Gwin CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10705497 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature