Molecular basis for substrate recognition and septum cleavage by AtlA, the major N-acetylglucosaminidase of Enterococcus faecalis.

ABSTRACT: The cleavage of septal peptidoglycan at the end of cell division facilitates the separation of the two daughter cells. The hydrolases involved in this process (called autolysins) are potentially lethal enzymes that can cause cell death; their activity, therefore, must be tightly controlled during cell growth. In Enterococcus faecalis, the N-acetylglucosaminidase AtlA plays a predominant role in cell separation. atlA mutants form long cell chains and are significantly less virulent in the zebrafish model of infection. The attenuated virulence of atlA mutants is underpinned by a limited dissemination of bacterial chains in the host organism and a more efficient uptake by phagocytes that clear the infection. AtlA has structural homologs in other important pathogens, such as Listeria monocytog

SUBMITTER: Roig-Zamboni V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9108991 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature