Insights into the function of YciM, a heat shock membrane protein required to maintain envelope integrity in Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT: The cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria is an essential organelle that is important for cell shape and protection from toxic compounds. Proteins involved in envelope biogenesis are therefore attractive targets for the design of new antibacterial agents. In a search for new envelope assembly factors, we screened a collection of Escherichia coli deletion mutants for sensitivity to detergents and hydrophobic antibiotics, a phenotype indicative of defects in the cell envelope. Strains lacking yciM were among the most sensitive strains of the mutant collection. Further characterization of yciM mutants revealed that they display a thermosensitive growth defect on low-osmolarity medium and that they have a significantly altered cell morphology. At elevated temperatures, yciM mutants form bulg

SUBMITTER: Nicolaes V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3911248 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature