The extracytoplasmic domain of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ser/Thr kinase PknB binds specific muropeptides and is required for PknB localization.

ABSTRACT: The Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ser/Thr kinase PknB has been implicated in the regulation of cell growth and morphology in this organism. The extracytoplasmic domain of this membrane protein comprises four penicillin binding protein and Ser/Thr kinase associated (PASTA) domains, which are predicted to bind stem peptides of peptidoglycan. Using a comprehensive library of synthetic muropeptides, we demonstrate that the extracytoplasmic domain of PknB binds muropeptides in a manner dependent on the presence of specific amino acids at the second and third positions of the stem peptide, and on the presence of the sugar moiety N-acetylmuramic acid linked to the peptide. We further show that PknB localizes strongly to the mid-cell and also to the cell poles, and that the extracytoplasmic domain is

SUBMITTER: Mir M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3145798 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature