The outer membrane is an essential load-bearing element in Gram-negative bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Gram-negative bacteria possess a complex cell envelope that consists of a plasma membrane, a peptidoglycan cell wall and an outer membrane. The envelope is a selective chemical barrier¹ that defines cell shape² and allows the cell to sustain large mechanical loads such as turgor pressure³. It is widely believed that the covalently cross-linked cell wall underpins the mechanical properties of the envelope^4,5. Here we show that the stiffness and strength of Escherichia coli cells are largely due to the outer membrane. Compromising the outer membrane, either chemically or genetically, greatly increased deformation of the cell envelope in response to stretching, bending and indentation forces, and induced increased levels of cell lysis upon mechanica

SUBMITTER: Rojas ER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6089221 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature