A Division of Labor in the Recruitment and Topological Organization of a Bacterial Morphogenic Complex.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria come in an array of shapes and sizes, but the mechanisms underlying diverse morphologies are poorly understood. The peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall is the primary determinant of cell shape. At the molecular level, morphological variation often results from the regulation of enzymes involved in cell elongation and division. These enzymes are spatially controlled by cytoskeletal scaffolding proteins, which both recruit and organize the PG synthesis complex. How then do cells define alternative morphogenic processes that are distinct from cell elongation and division? To address this, we have turned to the specific morphotype of Alphaproteobacterial stalks. Stalk synthesis is a specialized form of zonal growth, which requires PG synthesis in a spatially constrained zone to extend a thin

SUBMITTER: Caccamo PD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7578058 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature