scholarly journals An Actin Homolog of the Archaeon Thermoplasma acidophilum That Retains the Ancient Characteristics of Eukaryotic Actin

2006 ◽  
Vol 189 (5) ◽  
pp. 2039-2045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Futoshi Hara ◽  
Kan Yamashiro ◽  
Naoki Nemoto ◽  
Yoshinori Ohta ◽  
Shin-ichi Yokobori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Critical Concentration ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Unit Size ◽  
Thermoplasma Acidophilum ◽  
Nucleotide Triphosphates ◽  
A Cell

ABSTRACT Actin, a central component of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton, plays a crucial role in determining cell shape in addition to several other functions. Recently, the structure of the archaeal actin homolog Ta0583, isolated from the archaeon Thermoplasma acidophilum, which lacks a cell wall, was reported by Roeben et al. (J. Mol. Biol. 358:145-156, 2006). Here we show that Ta0583 assembles into bundles of filaments similar to those formed by eukaryotic actin. Specifically, Ta0583 forms a helix with a filament width of 5.5 nm and an axial repeating unit of 5.5 nm, both of which are comparable to those of eukaryotic actin. Eukaryotic actin shows a greater resemblance to Ta0583 than to bacterial MreB and ParM in terms of polymerization characteristics, such as the requirement for Mg2+, critical concentration, and repeating unit size. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis also showed a closer relationship between Ta0583 and eukaryotic actin than between MreB or ParM and actin. However, the low specificity of Ta0583 for nucleotide triphosphates indicates that Ta0583 is more primitive than eukaryotic actin. Taken together, our results suggest that Ta0583 retains the ancient characteristics of eukaryotic actin.

scholarly journals Tuning spherical cells into kinking helices in wall-less bacteria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Lartigue ◽  
Bastien Lambert ◽  
Fabien Rideau ◽  
Marion Decossas ◽  
Mélanie Hillion ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Cell Movement ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Spiroplasma Citri ◽  
Cytoplasmic Filaments ◽  
Peptidoglycan Cell Wall ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Spherical Cells

In bacteria, cell shape is determined and maintained through a complex interplay between the peptidoglycan cell wall and cytoplasmic filaments made of polymerized MreB. Spiroplasma species, members of the Mollicutes class, challenge this general understanding because they are characterized by a helical cell shape and motility without a cell wall. This specificity is thought to rely on five MreB isoforms and a specific fibril protein. In this study, combinations of these five MreBs and of the fibril from Spiroplasma citri were expressed in another Mollicutes, Mycoplasma capricolum. Mycoplasma cells that were initially pleomorphic, mostly spherical, turned into helices when MreBs and fibrils were expressed in this heterologous host. The fibril protein was essential neither for helicity nor for cell movements. The isoform MreB5 had a special role as it was sufficient to confer helicity and motility to the mycoplasma cells. Cryo-electron microscopy confirmed the association of MreBs and fibril-based cytoskeleton with the plasma membrane, suggesting a direct effect on the membrane curvature. Finally, the heterologous expression of these proteins, MreBs and fibril, made it possible to reproduce the kink-like motility of spiroplasmas without providing the ability of cell movement in liquid broth. We suggest that other Spiroplasma components, not yet identified, are required for swimming, a hypothesis that could be evaluated in future studies using the same model.

scholarly journals Bacterial Cell Wall Synthesis: New Insights from Localization Studies

2005 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 585-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk-Jan Scheffers ◽  
Mariana G. Pinho
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacterial Cell ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Cell Wall Synthesis ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Bacterial Cell Shape

SUMMARY In order to maintain shape and withstand intracellular pressure, most bacteria are surrounded by a cell wall that consists mainly of the cross-linked polymer peptidoglycan (PG). The importance of PG for the maintenance of bacterial cell shape is underscored by the fact that, for various bacteria, several mutations affecting PG synthesis are associated with cell shape defects. In recent years, the application of fluorescence microscopy to the field of PG synthesis has led to an enormous increase in data on the relationship between cell wall synthesis and bacterial cell shape. First, a novel staining method enabled the visualization of PG precursor incorporation in live cells. Second, penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), which mediate the final stages of PG synthesis, have been localized in various model organisms by means of immunofluorescence microscopy or green fluorescent protein fusions. In this review, we integrate the knowledge on the last stages of PG synthesis obtained in previous studies with the new data available on localization of PG synthesis and PBPs, in both rod-shaped and coccoid cells. We discuss a model in which, at least for a subset of PBPs, the presence of substrate is a major factor in determining PBP localization.

scholarly journals FERONIA’s sensing of cell wall pectin activates ROP GTPase signaling in Arabidopsis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenwei Lin ◽  
Wenxin Tang ◽  
Charles T. Anderson ◽  
Zhenbiao Yang
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Pavement Cell ◽  
Signaling Mechanism ◽  
Rop Gtpase ◽  
Surface Receptor ◽  
A Cell

ABSTRACTPlant cells need to monitor the cell wall dynamic to control the wall homeostasis required for a myriad of processes in plants, but the mechanisms underpinning cell wall sensing and signaling in regulating these processes remain largely elusive. Here, we demonstrate that receptor-like kinase FERONIA senses the cell wall pectin polymer to directly activate the ROP6 GTPase signaling pathway that regulates the formation of the cell shape in the Arabidopsis leaf epidermis. The extracellular malectin domain of FER directly interacts with de-methylesterified pectin in vivo and in vitro. Both loss-of-FER mutations and defects in the pectin biosynthesis and de-methylesterification caused changes in pavement cell shape and ROP6 signaling. FER is required for the activation of ROP6 by de-methylesterified pectin, and physically and genetically interacts with the ROP6 activator, RopGEF14. Thus, our findings elucidate a cell wall sensing and signaling mechanism that connects the cell wall to cellular morphogenesis via the cell surface receptor FER.

scholarly journals Genetic and structural validation of phosphomannomutase as a cell wall target in Aspergillus fumigatus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanwei Zhang ◽  
Wenxia Fang ◽  
Olawale G. Raimi ◽  
Deborah E. A. Lockhart ◽  
Andrew T. Ferenbach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Structural Validation

scholarly journals Treadmilling FtsZ polymers drive the directional movement of sPG-synthesis enzymes via a Brownian ratchet mechanism

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua W. McCausland ◽  
Xinxing Yang ◽  
Georgia R. Squyres ◽  
Zhixin Lyu ◽  
Kevin E. Bruce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Theoretical Modelling ◽  
Binding Potential ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Macromolecular Complex ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Brownian Ratchet ◽  
Ratchet Mechanism ◽  
Directional Movement

AbstractThe FtsZ protein is a central component of the bacterial cell division machinery. It polymerizes at mid-cell and recruits more than 30 proteins to assemble into a macromolecular complex to direct cell wall constriction. FtsZ polymers exhibit treadmilling dynamics, driving the processive movement of enzymes that synthesize septal peptidoglycan (sPG). Here, we combine theoretical modelling with single-molecule imaging of live bacterial cells to show that FtsZ’s treadmilling drives the directional movement of sPG enzymes via a Brownian ratchet mechanism. The processivity of the directional movement depends on the binding potential between FtsZ and the sPG enzyme, and on a balance between the enzyme’s diffusion and FtsZ’s treadmilling speed. We propose that this interplay may provide a mechanism to control the spatiotemporal distribution of active sPG enzymes, explaining the distinct roles of FtsZ treadmilling in modulating cell wall constriction rate observed in different bacteria.

scholarly journals Probing bacterial cell wall growth by tracing wall-anchored protein complexes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Jen Sun ◽  
Fan Bai ◽  
An-Chi Luo ◽  
Xiang-Yu Zhuang ◽  
Tsai-Shun Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Bernoulli Shift ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Axial Direction ◽  
Cell Wall Growth ◽  
Flagellar Motors ◽  
Shift Map ◽  
Dynamic Assembly ◽  
Wall Growth

AbstractThe dynamic assembly of the cell wall is key to the maintenance of cell shape during bacterial growth. Here, we present a method for the analysis of Escherichia coli cell wall growth at high spatial and temporal resolution, which is achieved by tracing the movement of fluorescently labeled cell wall-anchored flagellar motors. Using this method, we clearly identify the active and inert zones of cell wall growth during bacterial elongation. Within the active zone, the insertion of newly synthesized peptidoglycan occurs homogeneously in the axial direction without twisting of the cell body. Based on the measured parameters, we formulate a Bernoulli shift map model to predict the partitioning of cell wall-anchored proteins following cell division.

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