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Sequential assembly of the septal cell envelope prior to V snapping in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Xiaoxue Zhou1, Frances P Rodriguez-Rivera2, Hoong Chuin Lim3

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.

Nature Chemical Biology
|January 22, 2019
PubMed

Insights

The assembly of the unique cell envelope in Corynebacterineae, including the mycomembrane, is sequential. In Corynebacterium glutamicum, peptidoglycan perforations enable mycomembrane confluency and cell separation.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Cell Biology
  • Bacterial Cell Envelope Synthesis

Background:

  • Members of the Corynebacterineae suborder, such as Corynebacterium and Mycobacterium, possess a distinctive multilayered cell envelope.
  • This envelope includes an outer mycomembrane layer external to the peptidoglycan layer, a structure whose assembly mechanism is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the dynamic assembly process of the bacterial cell envelope layers in Corynebacterium glutamicum and Mycobacterium smegmatis.
  • To elucidate the role of the peptidoglycan layer in mycomembrane formation and cell division (V snapping) in C. glutamicum.

Main Methods:

  • Metabolic labeling techniques were employed to track the assembly dynamics of different cell envelope layers.
  • Microscopy and genetic approaches were utilized to observe and analyze cell envelope formation and septation.

Main Results:

  • The septal cell envelope in both C. glutamicum and M. smegmatis is assembled sequentially.
  • In C. glutamicum, the peripheral peptidoglycan at the septal junction forms a diffusion barrier for the mycomembrane, which is resolved by perforations.
  • This junctional peptidoglycan also acts as a mechanical linker, fracturing during V-shaped cell separation.

Conclusions:

  • Complete assembly of the septal cell envelope is crucial for normal V snapping and daughter cell separation in C. glutamicum.
  • The sequential assembly and specific structural modifications of the cell envelope layers are key to the unique division process in Corynebacterineae.

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