Length matters: the disordered N-terminus of Pal coordinates Lpp exclusion for outer membrane constriction in <i>E. coli</i>.

ABSTRACT: The peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (Pal) is essential for outer membrane integrity in gram-negative bacteria, but how its N-terminal disordered region contributes to cell division remains unclear. Here, we truncated this region in Escherichia coli (pal^-8: 8-aa deletion, pal^-24: 24-aa deletion) and found that while neither truncation impaired Pal localization or growth, both mutants exhibited graded sensitivity to membrane stressors (1 mM EDTA/1% SDS), with pal^-24 showing intermediate susceptibility between pal^-8 and Δpal. Atomic force microscopy revealed that the disordered region length fine-tunes Pal's ability to exclude Braun's lipoprotein (Lpp) from division sites: pal^-8 mainta

SUBMITTER: Chen Z-W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12826056 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature