title: Coupled, circumferential motions of the cell wall synthesis machinery and MreB filaments in B. subtilis.
abstract: Rod-shaped bacteria elongate by the action of cell wall synthesis complexes linked to underlying dynamic MreB filaments. To understand how the movements of these filaments relate to cell wall synthesis, we characterized the dynamics of MreB and the cell wall elongation machinery using high-precision particle tracking in Bacillus subtilis. We found that MreB and the elongation machinery moved circumferentially around the cell, perpendicular to its length, with nearby synthesis complexes and MreB filaments moving independently in both directions. Inhibition of cell wall synthesis by various methods blocked the movement of MreB. Thus, bacteria elongate by the uncoordinated, circumferential movements of synthetic complexes that insert radial hoops of new peptidoglycan during their transit, possibly driving the motion of the underlying MreB filaments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ethan.garner@hms.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Ethan C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Garner
authors.forename: Remi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bernard
authors.forename: Wenqin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaowei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: David Z
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Rudner
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mitchison
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009024:Morphogenesis; D009038:Motion; D009154:Mutation; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D058105:Polymerization; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010457:Peptidoglycan; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins