title: Wide variation in the cyanobacterial complement of presumptive penicillin-binding proteins.
abstract: A genomic analysis of putative penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) that are involved in the synthesis of the peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall and are encoded in 12 cyanobacterial genomes was performed in order to help elucidate the role(s) of these proteins in peptidoglycan synthesis, especially during cyanobacterial cellular differentiation. The analysis suggested that the minimum set of PBPs needed to assemble the peptidoglycan layer in cyanobacteria probably does not exceed one bifunctional transpeptidase-transglycosylase Class A high-molecular-weight PBP; two Class B high-molecular-weight PBPs, one of them probably involved in cellular elongation and the other in septum formation; and one low-molecular-weight PBP. The low-molecular-weight PBPs of all of the cyanobacteria analyzed are putative endopeptidases and are encoded by fewer genes than in Escherichia coli. We show that in Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, predicted proteins All2981 and Alr4579, like Alr5101, are Class A high-molecular-weight PBPs that are required for the functional differentiation of aerobically diazotrophic heterocysts, indicating that some members of this class of PBPs are required specifically for cellular developmental processes.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain. francisco.leganes@uam.es
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leganés
authors.forename: Amaya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blanco-Rivero
authors.forename: Francisca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fernández-Piñas
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Redondo
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fernández-Valiente
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Sigal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lechno-Yossef
authors.forename: C Peter
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wolk
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017033:Anabaena / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics*; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000502:physiology*; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010406:Penicillins / Q000378:metabolism; D046928:Peptidoglycan Glycosyltransferase; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; D010406:Penicillins; D046928:Peptidoglycan Glycosyltransferase