Robust Suppression of Lipopolysaccharide Deficiency in Acinetobacter baumannii by Growth in Minimal Medium.

ABSTRACT: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is normally considered to be essential for viability in Gram-negative bacteria but can be removed in Acinetobacter baumannii Mutant cells lacking this component of the outer membrane show growth and morphological defects. Here, we report that growth rates equivalent to the wild type can be achieved simply by propagation in minimal medium. The loss of LPS requires that cells rely on phospholipids for both leaflets of the outer membrane. We show that growth rate in the absence of LPS is not limited by nutrient availability but by the rate of outer membrane biogenesis. We hypothesize that because cells grow more slowly, outer membrane synthesis ceases to be rate limiting in minimal medium.IMPORTANCE Gram-negative bacteria are defined by their asymmetric outer membrane

SUBMITTER: Nagy E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6805113 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature