FtsW is a peptidoglycan polymerase that is functional only in complex with its cognate penicillin-binding protein.

ABSTRACT: The peptidoglycan cell wall is essential for the survival and morphogenesis of bacteria¹. For decades, it was thought that only class A penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) and related enzymes effected peptidoglycan synthesis. Recently, it was shown that RodA-a member of the unrelated SEDS protein family-also acts as a peptidoglycan polymerase^2-4. Not all bacteria require RodA for growth; however, its homologue, FtsW, is a core member of the divisome complex that appears to be universally essential for septal cell wall assembly^5,6. FtsW was previously proposed to translocate the peptidoglycan precursor lipid II across the cytoplasmic membrane^7,8. Here, we report that purified FtsW polymerizes lipid II into peptidoglycan, but show that its polymeras

SUBMITTER: Taguchi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6430707 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature