Mutations in ampG and lytic transglycosylase genes affect the net release of peptidoglycan monomers from Vibrio fischeri.

ABSTRACT: The light-organ symbiont Vibrio fischeri releases N-acetylglucosaminyl-1,6-anhydro-N-acetylmuramylalanyl-gamma-glutamyldiaminopimelylalanine, a disaccharide-tetrapeptide component of peptidoglycan that is referred to here as "PG monomer." In contrast, most gram-negative bacteria recycle PG monomer efficiently, and it does not accumulate extracellularly. PG monomer can stimulate normal light-organ morphogenesis in the host squid Euprymna scolopes, resulting in regression of ciliated appendages similar to that triggered by infection with V. fischeri. We examined whether the net release of PG monomers by V. fischeri resulted from lytic transglycosylase activity or from defects in AmpG, the permease through which PG monomers enter the cytoplasm for recycling. An ampG mutant displayed a 100-fol

SUBMITTER: Adin DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2655524 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature