AmiC functions as an N-acetylmuramyl-l-alanine amidase necessary for cell separation and can promote autolysis in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

ABSTRACT: Neisseria gonorrhoeae is prone to undergo autolysis under many conditions not conducive to growth. The role of autolysis during gonococcal infection is not known, but possible advantages for the bacterial population include provision of nutrients to a starving population, modulation of the host immune response by released cell components, and donation of DNA for natural transformation. Biochemical studies indicated that an N-acetylmuramyl-l-alanine amidase is responsible for cell wall breakdown during autolysis. In order to better understand autolysis and in hopes of creating a nonautolytic mutant, we mutated amiC, the gene for a putative peptidoglycan-degrading amidase in N. gonorrhoeae. Characterization of peptidoglycan fragments released during growth showed that an amiC mutant did not

SUBMITTER: Garcia DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1636224 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature