A conserved subcomplex within the bacterial cytokinetic ring activates cell wall synthesis by the FtsW-FtsI synthase.

ABSTRACT: Cell division in bacteria is mediated by a multiprotein assembly called the divisome. A major function of this machinery is the synthesis of the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall that caps the daughter poles and prevents osmotic lysis of the newborn cells. Recent studies have implicated a complex of FtsW and FtsI (FtsWI) as the essential PG synthase within the divisome; however, how PG polymerization by this synthase is regulated and coordinated with other activities within the machinery is not well understood. Previous results have implicated a conserved subcomplex of division proteins composed of FtsQ, FtsL, and FtsB (FtsQLB) in the regulation of FtsWI, but whether these proteins act directly as positive or negative regulators of the synthase has been unclear. To address this question, we pur

SUBMITTER: Marmont LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7519343 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature