Cell wall growth during elongation and division: one ring to bind them?
The role of the cell division protein FtsZ in bacterial cell wall (CW) synthesis is believed to be restricted to localizing proteins involved in the synthesis of the septal wall. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, the groups of Christine Jacobs-Wagner and Waldemar Vollmer provide compelling evidence that in Caulobacter crescentus, FtsZ plays an additional role in CW synthesis in non-dividing cells. During elongation (cell growth) FtsZ is responsible for the incorporation of CW material in a zone at the midcell by recruiting MurG, a protein involved in peptidoglycan (PG) precursor synthesis. This resembles earlier findings of FtsZ mediated PG synthesis activity in Escherichia coli. A role of FtsZ in PG synthesis during elongation forces a rethink of the current model of CW synthesis in rod-shaped bacteria.
Scheffers
Dirk-Jan
DJ
Molecular Microbiology, Institute for Molecular Cell Biology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. dirk-jan.scheffers@falw.vu.nl
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016935:Caulobacter crescentus / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017351:N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D014538:Uridine Diphosphate N-Acetylmuramic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000096:biosynthesis
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria; D014538:Uridine Diphosphate N-Acetylmuramic Acid; C069249:muramyl-NAc-(pentapeptide)pyrophosphoryl-undecaprenol; D017351:N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases; C064057:UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-N-acetylmuramyl-(pentapeptide)pyrophosphoryl-undecaprenol N-acetylglucosamine transferase