Antibacterial activity of alkyl gallates is a combination of direct targeting of FtsZ and permeabilization of bacterial membranes.

ABSTRACT: Alkyl gallates are compounds with reported antibacterial activity. One of the modes of action is binding of the alkyl gallates to the bacterial membrane and interference with membrane integrity. However, alkyl gallates also cause cell elongation and disruption of cell division in the important plant pathogen Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri, suggesting that cell division proteins may be targeted by alkyl gallates. Here, we use Bacillus subtilis and purified B. subtilis FtsZ to demonstrate that FtsZ is a direct target of alkyl gallates. Alkyl gallates disrupt the FtsZ-ring in vivo, and cause cell elongation. In vitro, alkyl gallates bind with high affinity to FtsZ, causing it to cluster and lose its capacity to polymerize. The activities of a homologous series of alkyl gallates with alkyl sid

SUBMITTER: Krol E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4413848 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature