title: Another brick in the wall.
abstract: The existence of a peptidoglycan cell wall in chlamydiae has been debated for several years. Several studies suggest that these organisms synthesize a cell wall, but some of the components and biosynthetic machinery seem to be missing and a bona fide cell wall has yet to be described. A recent study has revealed that a functional pathway for meso-diaminopimelate, one of the missing bricks for the wall, exists in chlamydiae. Here, I review the chlamydial cell wall paradox and discuss the importance of this new finding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 672, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. martin_pavelka@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Martin S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Pavelka
mesh_terms: D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002689:Chlamydia / Q000378:metabolism*; D003960:Diaminopimelic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010457:Peptidoglycan; D003960:Diaminopimelic Acid