scholarly journals Mechanics and dynamics of translocating MreB filaments on curved membranes

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Wong ◽  
Ethan C Garner ◽  
Ariel Amir
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Gaussian Curvature ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Cellular Distribution ◽  
Cell Wall Synthesis ◽  
Filament Dynamics ◽  
Negative Gaussian Curvature ◽  
Curved Membranes

MreB is an actin homolog that is essential for coordinating the cell wall synthesis required for the rod shape of many bacteria. Previously we have shown that filaments of MreB bind to the curved membranes of bacteria and translocate in directions determined by principal membrane curvatures to create and reinforce the rod shape (Hussain et al., 2018). Here, in order to understand how MreB filament dynamics affects their cellular distribution, we model how MreB filaments bind and translocate on membranes with different geometries. We find that it is both energetically favorable and robust for filaments to bind and orient along directions of largest membrane curvature. Furthermore, significant localization to different membrane regions results from processive MreB motion in various geometries. These results demonstrate that the in vivo localization of MreB observed in many different experiments, including those examining negative Gaussian curvature, can arise from translocation dynamics alone.

scholarly journals An amphipathic helix enables septins to sense micrometer-scale membrane curvature

2019 ◽  
Vol 218 (4) ◽  
pp. 1128-1137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin S. Cannon ◽  
Benjamin L. Woods ◽  
John M. Crutchley ◽  
Amy S. Gladfelter
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Amphipathic Helix ◽  
Curvature Sensing ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Number Of Binding Sites ◽  
Curved Membranes ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient ◽  
Micrometer Scale

Cell shape is well described by membrane curvature. Septins are filament-forming, GTP-binding proteins that assemble on positive, micrometer-scale curvatures. Here, we examine the molecular basis of curvature sensing by septins. We show that differences in affinity and the number of binding sites drive curvature-specific adsorption of septins. Moreover, we find septin assembly onto curved membranes is cooperative and show that geometry influences higher-order arrangement of septin filaments. Although septins must form polymers to stay associated with membranes, septin filaments do not have to span micrometers in length to sense curvature, as we find that single-septin complexes have curvature-dependent association rates. We trace this ability to an amphipathic helix (AH) located on the C-terminus of Cdc12. The AH domain is necessary and sufficient for curvature sensing both in vitro and in vivo. These data show that curvature sensing by septins operates at much smaller length scales than the micrometer curvatures being detected.

scholarly journals Staphylococcus aureus Cell Wall Biosynthesis Modulates Bone Invasion and Osteomyelitis Pathogenesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elysia A. Masters ◽  
Gowrishankar Muthukrishnan ◽  
Lananh Ho ◽  
Ann Lindley Gill ◽  
Karen L. de Mesy Bentley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Implant Loosening ◽  
Penicillin Binding Protein ◽  
Cell Wall Synthesis ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Surface Adhesins

Staphylococcus aureus invasion of the osteocyte lacuno-canalicular network (OLCN) is a novel mechanism of bacterial persistence and immune evasion in chronic osteomyelitis. Previous work highlighted S. aureus cell wall transpeptidase, penicillin binding protein 4 (PBP4), and surface adhesin, S. aureus surface protein C (SasC), as critical factors for bacterial deformation and propagation through nanopores in vitro, representative of the confined canaliculi in vivo. Given these findings, we hypothesized that cell wall synthesis machinery and surface adhesins enable durotaxis- and haptotaxis-guided invasion of the OLCN, respectively. Here, we investigated select S. aureus cell wall synthesis mutants (Δpbp3, Δatl, and ΔmreC) and surface adhesin mutants (ΔclfA and ΔsasC) for nanopore propagation in vitro and osteomyelitis pathogenesis in vivo. In vitro evaluation in the microfluidic silicon membrane-canalicular array (μSiM-CA) showed pbp3, atl, clfA, and sasC deletion reduced nanopore propagation. Using a murine model for implant-associated osteomyelitis, S. aureus cell wall synthesis proteins were found to be key modulators of S. aureus osteomyelitis pathogenesis, while surface adhesins had minimal effects. Specifically, deletion of pbp3 and atl decreased septic implant loosening and S. aureus abscess formation in the medullary cavity, while deletion of surface adhesins showed no significant differences. Further, peri-implant osteolysis, osteoclast activity, and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) production were decreased following pbp3 deletion. Most notably, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging of infected bone showed that pbp3 was the only gene herein associated with decreased submicron invasion of canaliculi in vivo. Together, these results demonstrate that S. aureus cell wall synthesis enzymes are critical for OLCN invasion and osteomyelitis pathogenesis in vivo.

scholarly journals An N-terminal conserved region in human Atg3 couples membrane curvature sensitivity to conjugase activity during autophagy

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yansheng Ye ◽  
Erin R. Tyndall ◽  
Van Bui ◽  
Zhenyuan Tang ◽  
Yan Shen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Catalytic Core ◽  
Spatial Regulation ◽  
Target Membrane ◽  
Membrane Bound ◽  
Conserved Region ◽  
Curved Membranes ◽  
Key Steps

AbstractDuring autophagy the enzyme Atg3 catalyzes the covalent conjugation of LC3 to the amino group of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) lipids, which is one of the key steps in autophagosome formation. Here, we have demonstrated that an N-terminal conserved region of human Atg3 (hAtg3) communicates information from the N-terminal membrane curvature-sensitive amphipathic helix (AH), which presumably targets the enzyme to the tip of phagophore, to the C-terminally located catalytic core for LC3–PE conjugation. Mutations in the putative communication region greatly reduce or abolish the ability of hAtg3 to catalyze this conjugation in vitro and in vivo, and alter the membrane-bound conformation of the wild-type protein, as reported by NMR. Collectively, our results demonstrate that the N-terminal conserved region of hAtg3 works in concert with its geometry-selective AH to promote LC3–PE conjugation only on the target membrane, and substantiate the concept that highly curved membranes drive spatial regulation of the autophagosome biogenesis during autophagy.

scholarly journals Author response: MreB filaments align along greatest principal membrane curvature to orient cell wall synthesis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saman Hussain ◽  
Carl N Wivagg ◽  
Piotr Szwedziak ◽  
Felix Wong ◽  
Kaitlin Schaefer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Author Response ◽  
Cell Wall Synthesis

scholarly journals MreB filaments align along greatest principal membrane curvature to orient cell wall synthesis

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saman Hussain ◽  
Carl N Wivagg ◽  
Piotr Szwedziak ◽  
Felix Wong ◽  
Kaitlin Schaefer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Radial Direction ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Biophysical Modeling ◽  
Cell Wall Synthesis ◽  
Peptidoglycan Synthesis ◽  
Stable Maintenance ◽  
Spherical Cells

MreB is essential for rod shape in many bacteria. Membrane-associated MreB filaments move around the rod circumference, helping to insert cell wall in the radial direction to reinforce rod shape. To understand how oriented MreB motion arises, we altered the shape of Bacillus subtilis. MreB motion is isotropic in round cells, and orientation is restored when rod shape is externally imposed. Stationary filaments orient within protoplasts, and purified MreB tubulates liposomes in vitro, orienting within tubes. Together, this demonstrates MreB orients along the greatest principal membrane curvature, a conclusion supported with biophysical modeling. We observed that spherical cells regenerate into rods in a local, self-reinforcing manner: rapidly propagating rods emerge from small bulges, exhibiting oriented MreB motion. We propose that the coupling of MreB filament alignment to shape-reinforcing peptidoglycan synthesis creates a locally-acting, self-organizing mechanism allowing the rapid establishment and stable maintenance of emergent rod shape.

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal localization of cell wall associated pili in Enterococcus faecalis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei Yi Choo ◽  
Charles Wang ◽  
Michael VanNieuwenhze ◽  
Kimberly Kline
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Enterococcus Faecalis ◽  
General Rule ◽  
Cell Wall Synthesis ◽  
Lipid Ii ◽  
Growing Cell ◽  
Temporal Localization

Enterococcus faecalis relies upon a number of cell wall-associated proteins for virulence. One virulence factor is the sortase-assembled endocarditis and biofilm associated pilus (Ebp), an important factor for biofilm formation in vitro and in vivo. The current paradigm for sortase-assembled pilus biogenesis in Gram-positive bacteria is that the pilus sortase covalently links pilus monomers prior to recognition, while the housekeeping sortase cleaves at the LPXTG motif within the terminal pilin subunit, and subsequently attaches assembled pilus fiber to the growing cell wall at sites of new cell wall synthesis. While the cell wall anchoring mechanism and polymerization of Ebp is well characterized, less is known about the spatial and temporal deposition of this protein on the cell surface. We followed the distribution of Ebp and peptidoglycan (PG) throughout the E. faecalis cell cycle via immunofluorescence microscopy and fluorescent D-amino acids (FDAA) staining. Surprisingly, cell surface Ebp did not co-localize with newly synthesized PG. Instead, surface-anchored Ebp was localized to the cell hemisphere but never at the septum where new cell wall is deposited. In addition, the older hemisphere of the E. faecalis diplococcus were completely saturated with Ebp, while Ebp appeared as two foci directly adjacent to the nascent septum in the newer hemisphere. A similar localization pattern was observed for another cell wall anchored substrate by sortase A, aggregation substance (AS), suggesting that this may be a general rule for all SrtA substrates in E. faecalis. When cell wall synthesis was inhibited by ramoplanin, an antibiotic that binds and sequesters lipid II cell wall precursors, new Ebp deposition at the cell surface was not disrupted. These data suggest an alternative paradigm for sortase substrate deposition in E. faecalis, in which Ebp are anchored directly onto un-crosslinked cell wall, independent of new PG synthesis.

scholarly journals cPLA2α and EHD1 interact and regulate the vesiculation of cholesterol-rich, GPI-anchored, protein-containing endosomes

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 1874-1888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bishuang Cai ◽  
Steve Caplan ◽  
Naava Naslavsky
Keyword(s):  
Phospholipase A2 ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Cytosolic Phospholipase ◽  
Early Endosomes ◽  
Lysophospholipid Acyltransferase ◽  
Curved Membranes ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

The lipid modifier phospholipase A2 catalyzes the hydrolysis of phospholipids to inverted-cone–shaped lysophospholipids that contribute to membrane curvature and/or tubulation. Conflicting findings exist regarding the function of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) and its role in membrane regulation at the Golgi and early endosomes. However, no studies addressed the role of cPLA2 in the regulation of cholesterol-rich membranes that contain glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-APs). Our studies support a role for cPLA2α in the vesiculation of GPI-AP–containing membranes, using endogenous CD59 as a model for GPI-APs. On cPLA2α depletion, CD59-containing endosomes became hypertubular. Moreover, accumulation of lysophospholipids induced by a lysophospholipid acyltransferase inhibitor extensively vesiculated CD59-containing endosomes. However, overexpression of cPLA2α did not increase the endosomal vesiculation, implying a requirement for additional factors. Indeed, depletion of the “pinchase” EHD1, a C-terminal Eps15 homology domain (EHD) ATPase, also induced hypertubulation of CD59-containing endosomes. Furthermore, EHD1 and cPLA2α demonstrated in situ proximity (<40 nm) and interacted in vivo. The results presented here provide evidence that the lipid modifier cPLA2α and EHD1 are involved in the vesiculation of CD59-containing endosomes. We speculate that cPLA2α induces membrane curvature and allows EHD1, possibly in the context of a complex, to sever the curved membranes into vesicles.

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