The lipoprotein Pal stabilises the bacterial outer membrane during constriction by a mobilisation-and-capture mechanism.

ABSTRACT: Coordination of outer membrane constriction with septation is critical to faithful division in Gram-negative bacteria and vital to the barrier function of the membrane. This coordination requires the recruitment of the peptidoglycan-binding outer-membrane lipoprotein Pal at division sites by the Tol system. Here, we show that Pal accumulation at Escherichia coli division sites is a consequence of three key functions of the Tol system. First, Tol mobilises Pal molecules in dividing cells, which otherwise diffuse very slowly due to their binding of the cell wall. Second, Tol actively captures mobilised Pal molecules and deposits them at the division septum. Third, the active capture mechanism is analogous to that used by the inner membrane protein TonB to dislodge the plug domains of outer m

SUBMITTER: Szczepaniak J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7066135 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature