Escherichia coli peptidoglycan structure and mechanics as predicted by atomic-scale simulations.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria face the challenging requirement to maintain their shape and avoid rupture due to the high internal turgor pressure, but simultaneously permit the import and export of nutrients, chemical signals, and virulence factors. The bacterial cell wall, a mesh-like structure composed of cross-linked strands of peptidoglycan, fulfills both needs by being semi-rigid, yet sufficiently porous to allow diffusion through it. How the mechanical properties of the cell wall are determined by the molecular features and the spatial arrangement of the relatively thin strands in the larger cellular-scale structure is not known. To examine this issue, we have developed and simulated atomic-scale models of Escherichia coli cell walls in a disordered circumferential arrangement. The cell-wall models are f

SUBMITTER: Gumbart JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3930494 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature