title: Dynamics of the peptidoglycan biosynthetic machinery in the stalked budding bacterium Hyphomonas neptunium.
abstract: Most commonly studied bacteria grow symmetrically and divide by binary fission, generating two siblings of equal morphology. An exception to this rule are budding bacteria, in which new offspring emerges de novo from a morphologically invariant mother cell. Although this mode of proliferation is widespread in diverse bacterial lineages, the underlying mechanisms are still incompletely understood. Here, we report the first molecular-level analysis of growth and morphogenesis in the stalked budding alphaproteobacterium Hyphomonas neptunium. Peptidoglycan labeling shows that, in this species, buds originate from a stalk-like extension of the mother cell whose terminal segment is gradually remodeled into a new cell compartment. As a first step toward identifying the machinery mediating the budding process, we performed comprehensive mutational and localization studies of predicted peptidoglycan biosynthetic proteins in H. neptunium. These analyses identify factors that localize to distinct zones of dispersed and zonal growth, and they suggest a critical role of the MreB-controlled elongasome in cell morphogenesis. Collectively, our work shows that the mechanism of growth in H. neptunium is distinct from that in related, polarly growing members of the order Rhizobiales, setting the stage for in-depth analyses of the molecular principles regulating the fascinating developmental cycle of this species.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität, Marburg, 35043, Germany.|Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany.
authors.forename: Emöke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cserti
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität, Marburg, 35043, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosskopf
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Yi-Wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität, Marburg, 35043, Germany.|Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eisheuer
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Chemistry, Philipps-Universität, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Selter
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität, Marburg, 35043, Germany.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Regh
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Chemistry, Philipps-Universität, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Koert
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.|Howard Hughes Medical Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Grant J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität, Marburg, 35043, Germany.|Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany.|LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thanbichler
mesh_terms: D020561:Alphaproteobacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division / Q000235:genetics; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010457:Peptidoglycan