Identification of FtsW as a transporter of lipid-linked cell wall precursors across the membrane.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial cell growth necessitates synthesis of peptidoglycan. Assembly of this major constituent of the bacterial cell wall is a multistep process starting in the cytoplasm and ending in the exterior cell surface. The intracellular part of the pathway results in the production of the membrane-anchored cell wall precursor, Lipid II. After synthesis this lipid intermediate is translocated across the cell membrane. The translocation (flipping) step of Lipid II was demonstrated to require a specific protein (flippase). Here, we show that the integral membrane protein FtsW, an essential protein of the bacterial division machinery, is a transporter of the lipid-linked peptidoglycan precursors across the cytoplasmic membrane. Using Escherichia coli membrane vesicles we found that transport of Li

SUBMITTER: Mohammadi T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3102273 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature