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Related Concept Videos

Bacterial Cell Wall01:22

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The bacterial cell wall is an essential structural component that encases the plasma membrane, preserving cellular integrity, determining shape, and protecting against osmotic stress. This rigid yet flexible structure primarily comprises peptidoglycan, a polymer that forms a mesh-like matrix conferring mechanical strength and flexibility.Peptidoglycan Composition and StructurePeptidoglycan, the core of the bacterial cell wall, comprises alternating units of N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and...
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Structure of PeptidoglycanPeptidoglycan is a vital structural component of the bacterial cell wall, providing mechanical strength and shape to the cell. It consists of repeating units of two sugars—N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM)—linked by β-1,4 glycosidic bonds. These sugar chains are cross-linked by short peptide chains, forming a mesh-like polymer that surrounds the bacterial plasma membrane.Cytoplasmic Phase – Precursor SynthesisPeptidoglycan...
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Bacterial cells were initially considered simple, randomly organized structures lacking a cytoskeleton. However, the discovery of cytoskeleton homologs in bacteria led to the change of this opinion. Bacterial cytoskeletal filaments regulate the cell shape, cell polarity, cell division, and partitioning of plasmids during cell division. It was later discovered that bacterial cytoskeletal proteins, mainly actin and tubulin homologs, are diverse compared to their eukaryotic counterparts. On the...
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Archaeal cell walls are structurally and compositionally distinct from their bacterial counterparts, lacking the characteristic peptidoglycan layer found in most bacteria. Instead, archaeal cell walls exhibit remarkable diversity, utilizing materials such as pseudomurein, polysaccharides, and proteins to construct their protective outer layers. This structural flexibility is closely tied to archaea's ecological adaptability.S-Layers: The Common Archaeal Cell WallThe S-layer is the most...
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Microtubules are small hollow tubes in eukaryotic cells. The cell wall microtubules are polymerized dimers of two globular proteins, α-tubulin and β-tubulin, two globular proteins. With a diameter of about 25 nm, microtubules are the widest components of the cytoskeleton. They help the cell resist compression and provide a track along which vesicles move through the cell or pull replicated chromosomes to opposite ends of a dividing cell. Microtubules go through quick cycles of...
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Bacterial growth is closely tied to nutrient availability, with cells proliferating exponentially under favorable conditions and entering a stationary phase when resources become scarce. This transition is mediated by a regulatory mechanism known as the stringent response, which allows bacteria to adapt to nutrient deprivation by modulating gene expression and metabolic activity.During nutrient scarcity, intracellular amino acid levels decline. It results in the accumulation of uncharged tRNAs...
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Isolation and Preparation of Bacterial Cell Walls for Compositional Analysis by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography
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Chemically Induced Cell Wall Stapling in Bacteria.

Sylvia L Rivera1, Akbar Espaillat2, Arjun K Aditham3

  • 1Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.

Cell Chemical Biology
|November 25, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers chemically linked bacterial cell walls using click chemistry, creating synthetic cross-links that protect bacteria from antibiotics and offer new ways to study cell wall function.

Keywords:
antibioticbacteriacell wallclick chemistrycross-linkingd-amino acidmetabolic labelingpeptidoglycantranspeptidase

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Biochemistry
  • Synthetic Biology

Background:

  • Bacterial cell walls, composed of peptidoglycan, are essential for structural integrity and preventing osmotic lysis.
  • Transpeptidation by transpeptidases creates crucial cross-linkages in peptidoglycan, a target for antibiotics like β-lactams.
  • Redundant transpeptidases complicate functional studies of specific cross-links.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a chemical method for cross-linking bacterial peptidoglycan.
  • To investigate the functional role of peptidoglycan cross-links independent of enzymatic activity.
  • To establish a novel approach for visualizing and manipulating bacterial cell wall structure.

Main Methods:

  • Metabolically installing azido- and alkynyl-d-alanine residues into bacterial peptidoglycan.
  • Employing biocompatible click chemistry to form synthetic triazole cross-links.
  • Utilizing azidocoumarin-d-alanine for fluorescent visualization of cross-linking.

Main Results:

  • Successfully created synthetic triazole cross-links in the peptidoglycan of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
  • Demonstrated that these synthetic cross-links enhance bacterial resistance to broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics (ampicillin, carbenicillin) in Escherichia coli.
  • Visualized the formation of synthetic cross-links using a fluorescent probe.

Conclusions:

  • Chemical cross-linking of peptidoglycan provides a complementary approach to genetic methods for studying cell wall function.
  • Synthetic cross-links can functionally substitute for or reinforce enzymatic cross-linkages, impacting antibiotic resistance.
  • This technique offers new avenues for understanding bacterial cell wall dynamics and developing novel antimicrobial strategies.