title: LipidII: Just Another Brick in the Wall?
abstract: Nearly all bacteria contain a peptidoglycan cell wall. The peptidoglycan precursor molecule is LipidII, containing the basic peptidoglycan building block attached to a lipid. Although the suitability of LipidII as an antibacterial target has long been recognized, progress on elucidating the role(s) of LipidII in bacterial cell biology has been slow. The focus of this review is on exciting new developments, both with respect to antibacterials targeting LipidII as well as the emerging role of LipidII in organizing the membrane and cell wall synthesis. It appears that on both sides of the membrane, LipidII plays crucial roles in organizing cytoskeletal proteins and peptidoglycan synthesis machineries. Finally, the recent discovery of no less than three different categories of LipidII flippases will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dirk-Jan
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Scheffers
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Menno B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Tol
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism*; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010457:Peptidoglycan