Cell wall peptidoglycan architecture in Bacillus subtilis
- 23 September 2008
- journal article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 105 (38), 14603-14608
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0804138105
Abstract
The bacterial cell wall is essential for viability and shape determination. Cell wall structural dynamics allowing growth and division, while maintaining integrity is a basic problem governing the life of bacteria. The polymer peptidoglycan is the main structural component for most bacteria and is made up of glycan strands that are cross-linked by peptide side chains. Despite study and speculation over many years, peptidoglycan architecture has remained largely elusive. Here, we show that the model rod-shaped bacterium Bacillus subtilis has glycan strands up to 5 microm, longer than the cell itself and 50 times longer than previously proposed. Atomic force microscopy revealed the glycan strands to be part of a peptidoglycan architecture allowing cell growth and division. The inner surface of the cell wall has a regular macrostructure with approximately 50 nm-wide peptidoglycan cables [average 53 +/- 12 nm (n = 91)] running basically across the short axis of the cell. Cross striations with an average periodicity of 25 +/- 9 nm (n = 96) along each cable are also present. The fundamental cabling architecture is also maintained during septal development as part of cell division. We propose a coiled-coil model for peptidoglycan architecture encompassing our data and recent evidence concerning the biosynthetic machinery for this essential polymer.Keywords
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