scholarly journals Tertiary Structure of Staphylococcus aureus Cell Wall Murein

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (21) ◽  
pp. 7141-7148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris A. Dmitriev ◽  
Filip V. Toukach ◽  
O. Holst ◽  
E. T. Rietschel ◽  
S. Ehlers
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Tertiary Structure ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Division Plane ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Computer Simulation Studies ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Division Plane Orientation

ABSTRACT The recently described scaffold model of murein architecture depicts the gram-negative bacterial cell wall as a gel-like matrix composed of cross-linked glycan strands oriented perpendicularly to the plasma membrane while peptide bridges adopt a parallel orientation (B. A. Dmitriev, F. V. Toukach, K. J. Schaper, O. Holst, E. T. Rietschel, and S. Ehlers, J. Bacteriol. 185:3458-3468, 2003). Based on the scaffold model, we now present computer simulation studies on the peptidoglycan arrangement of the gram-positive organism Staphylococcus aureus, which show that the orientation of peptide bridges is critical for the highly cross-linked murein architecture of this microorganism. According to the proposed refined model, staphylococcal murein is composed of glycan and oligopeptide chains, both running in a plane that is perpendicular to the plasma membrane, with oligopeptide chains adopting a zigzag conformation and zippering adjacent glycan strands along their lengths. In contrast to previous models of murein in gram-positive bacteria, this model reflects the high degree of cross-linking that is the hallmark of the staphylococcal cell wall and is compatible with distinguishing features of S. aureus cytokinesis such as the triple consecutive alteration of the division plane orientation and the strictly centripetal mode of septum closure.

Microanatomy of the Periplasm of Bacillus Licheniformis

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 262-263
Author(s):  
B.K. Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Bacillus Licheniformis ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Permeability Barrier ◽  
Periplasmic Space ◽  
Modified Technique ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria

Periplasm of bacteria is the space outside the permeability barrier of plasma membrane but enclosed by the cell wall. The contents of this special milieu exterior could be regulated by the plasma membrane from the internal, and by the cell wall from the external environment of the cell. Unlike the gram-negative organism, the presence of this space in gram-positive bacteria is still controversial because it cannot be clearly demonstrated. We have shown the importance of some periplasmic bodies in the secretion of penicillinase from Bacillus licheniformis.In negatively stained specimens prepared by a modified technique (Figs. 1 and 2), periplasmic space (PS) contained two kinds of structures: (i) fibrils (F, 100 Å) running perpendicular to the cell wall from the protoplast and (ii) an array of vesicles of various sizes (V), which seem to have evaginated from the protoplast.

Covalent Sortase A Inhibitor ML346 Prevents Staphylococcus aureus Infection of Galleria mellonella

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang-Na Guan ◽  
Tao Zhang ◽  
Teng Yang ◽  
Ze Dong ◽  
Song Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Galleria Mellonella ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Sortase A ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Aureus Infection ◽  
Cell Wall Peptidoglycan

The housekeeping sortase A (SrtA), a membrane-associated cysteine transpeptidase, is responsible for anchoring surface proteins to the cell wall peptidoglycan in Gram-positive bacteria. This process is essential for the regulation...

scholarly journals A Comparative Genome Analysis Identifies Distinct Sorting Pathways in Gram-Positive Bacteria

2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 2710-2722 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Comfort ◽  
Robert T. Clubb
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Sequence Motifs ◽  
Comparative Genome Analysis ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Microbial Genomes ◽  
Searchable Database ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Related Proteins

ABSTRACT Surface proteins in gram-positive bacteria are frequently required for virulence, and many are attached to the cell wall by sortase enzymes. Bacteria frequently encode more than one sortase enzyme and an even larger number of potential sortase substrates that possess an LPXTG-type cell wall sorting signal. In order to elucidate the sorting pathways present in gram-positive bacteria, we performed a comparative analysis of 72 sequenced microbial genomes. We show that sortase enzymes can be partitioned into five distinct subfamilies based upon their primary sequences and that most of their substrates can be predicted by making a few conservative assumptions. Most bacteria encode sortases from two or more subfamilies, which are predicted to function nonredundantly in sorting proteins to the cell surface. Only ∼20% of sortase-related proteins are most closely related to the well-characterized Staphylococcus aureus SrtA protein, but nonetheless, these proteins are responsible for anchoring the majority of surface proteins in gram-positive bacteria. In contrast, most sortase-like proteins are predicted to play a more specialized role, with each anchoring far fewer proteins that contain unusual sequence motifs. The functional sortase-substrate linkage predictions are available online (http://www.doe-mbi.ucla.edu/Services/Sortase/ ) in a searchable database.

scholarly journals Antimicrobial Biophotonic Treatment of Ampicillin-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Hypericin and Ampicillin Cotreatment Followed by Orange Light

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seemi Tasnim Alam ◽  
Tram Anh Ngoc Le ◽  
Jin-Soo Park ◽  
Hak Cheol Kwon ◽  
Kyungsu Kang
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Wall Structures ◽  
Global Issue ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi

Bacterial antibiotic resistance is an alarming global issue that requires alternative antimicrobial methods to which there is no resistance. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (APDT) is a well-known method to combat this problem for many pathogens, especially Gram-positive bacteria and fungi. Hypericin and orange light APDT efficiently kill Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and the yeast Candida albicans. Although Gram-positive bacteria and many fungi are readily killed with APDT, Gram-negative bacteria are difficult to kill due to their different cell wall structures. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most important opportunistic, life-threatening Gram-negative pathogens. However, it cannot be killed successfully by hypericin and orange light APDT. P. aeruginosa is ampicillin resistant, but we hypothesized that ampicillin could still damage the cell wall, which can promote photosensitizer uptake into Gram-negative cells. Using hypericin and ampicillin cotreatment followed by orange light, a significant reduction (3.4 log) in P. aeruginosa PAO1 was achieved. P. aeruginosa PAO1 inactivation and gut permeability improvement by APDT were successfully shown in a Caenorhabditis elegans model.

scholarly journals Bactericidal/Permeability-Increasing Protein Inhibits Growth of a Strain of Acholeplasma laidlawii and L Forms of the Gram-Positive Bacteria Staphylococcus aureus andStreptococcus pyogenes

1999 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 2314-2316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold H. Horwitz ◽  
Robert E. Williams ◽  
Pei-Syan Liu ◽  
Rossana Nadell
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Streptococcus Pyogenes ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Intact Cell ◽  
Inhibitory Effects ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Acholeplasma Laidlawii ◽  
Growth Inhibitory

ABSTRACT Bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) inhibited growth of cell wall-deficient Acholeplasma laidlawii and L forms of certain strains of Staphylococcus aureus andStreptococcus pyogenes. However, the same strains ofS. aureus and S. pyogenes with intact cell walls were not susceptible to the growth-inhibitory effects of BPI.

scholarly journals The Cell Wall Polymer Lipoteichoic Acid Becomes Nonessential inStaphylococcus aureusCells Lacking the ClpX Chaperone

mBio ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristoffer T. Bæk ◽  
Lisa Bowman ◽  
Charlotte Millership ◽  
Mia Dupont Søgaard ◽  
Volkhard Kaever ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Lipoteichoic Acid ◽  
Growth Defect ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Functional Connection ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Autolytic Activity

ABSTRACTLipoteichoic acid (LTA) is an important cell wall component of Gram-positive bacteria and a promising target for the development of vaccines and antimicrobial compounds againstStaphylococcus aureus. Here we demonstrate that mutations in the conditionally essentialltaS(LTA synthase) gene arise spontaneously in anS. aureusmutant lacking the ClpX chaperone. A wide variety ofltaSmutations were selected, and among these, a substantial portion resulted in premature stop codons and other changes predicted to abolish LtaS synthesis. Consistent with this assumption, theclpX ltaSdouble mutants did not produce LTA, and genetic analyses confirmed that LTA becomes nonessential in the absence of the ClpX chaperone. In fact, inactivation ofltaSalleviated the severe growth defect conferred by theclpXdeletion. Microscopic analyses showed that the absence of ClpX partly alleviates the septum placement defects of an LTA-depleted strain, while other phenotypes typical of LTA-negativeS. aureusmutants, including increased cell size and decreased autolytic activity, are retained. In conclusion, our results indicate that LTA has an essential role in septum placement that can be bypassed by inactivating the ClpX chaperone.IMPORTANCELipoteichoic acid is an essential component of theStaphylococcus aureuscell envelope and an attractive target for the development of vaccines and antimicrobials directed against antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria such as methicillin-resistantS. aureusand vancomycin-resistant enterococci. In this study, we showed that the lipoteichoic acid polymer is essential for growth ofS. aureusonly as long as the ClpX chaperone is present in the cell. Our results indicate that lipoteichoic acid and ClpX play opposite roles in a pathway that controls two key cell division processes inS. aureus, namely, septum formation and autolytic activity. The discovery of a novel functional connection in the genetic network that controls cell division inS. aureusmay expand the repertoire of possible strategies to identify compounds or compound combinations that kill antibiotic-resistantS. aureus.

Influence of Cell Wall Composition on the Fossilisation of Bacteria and the Implications for the Search for Early Life Forms

1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 491-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Westall
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Cation Binding ◽  
Positive Bacterium ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Hydrothermal Sediments ◽  
Identification Of Bacteria ◽  
The Difference

AbstractThe oldest cell-like structures on Earth are preserved in silicified lagoonal, shallow sea or hydrothermal sediments, such as some Archean formations in Western Australia and South Africa. Previous studies concentrated on the search for organic fossils in Archean rocks. Observations of silicified bacteria (as silica minerals) are scarce for both the Precambrian and the Phanerozoic, but reports of mineral bacteria finds, in general, are increasing. The problems associated with the identification of authentic fossil bacteria and, if possible, closer identification of bacteria type can, in part, be overcome by experimental fossilisation studies. These have shown that not all bacteria fossilise in the same way and, indeed, some seem to be very resistent to fossilisation. This paper deals with a transmission electron microscope investigation of the silicification of four species of bacteria commonly found in the environment. The Gram positiveBacillus laterosporusand its spore produced a robust, durable crust upon silicification, whereas the Gram negativePseudomonas fluorescens, Ps. vesicularis, andPs. acidovoranspresented delicately preserved walls. The greater amount of peptidoglycan, containing abundant metal cation binding sites, in the cell wall of the Gram positive bacterium, probably accounts for the difference in the mode of fossilisation. The Gram positive bacteria are, therefore, probably most likely to be preserved in the terrestrial and extraterrestrial rock record.

scholarly journals Gram-positive bacteria cell wall-derived lipoteichoic acid induces inflammatory alveolar bone loss through prostaglandin E production in osteoblasts

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsukasa Tominari ◽  
Ayumi Sanada ◽  
Ryota Ichimaru ◽  
Chiho Matsumoto ◽  
Michiko Hirata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bone Loss ◽  
Alveolar Bone ◽  
Osteoclast Differentiation ◽  
Lipoteichoic Acid ◽  
Alveolar Bone Loss ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria

AbstractPeriodontitis is an inflammatory disease associated with severe alveolar bone loss and is dominantly induced by lipopolysaccharide from Gram-negative bacteria; however, the role of Gram-positive bacteria in periodontal bone resorption remains unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a major cell-wall factor of Gram-positive bacteria, on the progression of inflammatory alveolar bone loss in a model of periodontitis. In coculture of mouse primary osteoblasts and bone marrow cells, LTA induced osteoclast differentiation in a dose-dependent manner. LTA enhanced the production of PGE2 accompanying the upregulation of the mRNA expression of mPGES-1, COX-2 and RANKL in osteoblasts. The addition of indomethacin effectively blocked the LTA-induced osteoclast differentiation by suppressing the production of PGE2. Using ex vivo organ cultures of mouse alveolar bone, we found that LTA induced alveolar bone resorption and that this was suppressed by indomethacin. In an experimental model of periodontitis, LTA was locally injected into the mouse lower gingiva, and we clearly detected alveolar bone destruction using 3D-μCT. We herein demonstrate a new concept indicating that Gram-positive bacteria in addition to Gram-negative bacteria are associated with the progression of periodontal bone loss.

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