Functional Characterization of the Cell Division Gene Cluster of the Wall-less Bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium.

ABSTRACT: It is well-established that FtsZ drives peptidoglycan synthesis at the division site in walled bacteria. However, the function and conservation of FtsZ in wall-less prokaryotes such as mycoplasmas are less clear. In the genome-reduced bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium, the cell division gene cluster is limited to four genes: mraZ, mraW, MG_223, and ftsZ. In a previous study, we demonstrated that ftsZ was dispensable for growth of M. genitalium under laboratory culture conditions. Herein, we show that the entire cell division gene cluster of M. genitalium is non-essential for growth in vitro. Our analyses indicate that loss of the mraZ gene alone is more detrimental for growth of M. genitalium than deletion of ftsZ o

SUBMITTER: Martinez-Torro C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8475190 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature