MMBR Figure table search 04
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Höltje, J.-V.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Höltje, J.-V.

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev, March 1998, p. 181-203, Vol. 62, No. 1
1092-2172/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Growth of the Stress-Bearing and Shape-Maintaining Murein Sacculus of Escherichia coli

Joachim-Volker Höltje*

Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, Abteilung Biochemie, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany

To withstand the high intracellular pressure, the cell wall of most bacteria is stabilized by a unique cross-linked biopolymer called murein or peptidoglycan. It is made of glycan strands [poly-(GlcNAc-MurNAc)], which are linked by short peptides to form a covalently closed net. Completely surrounding the cell, the murein represents a kind of bacterial exoskeleton known as the murein sacculus. Not only does the sacculus endow bacteria with mechanical stability, but in addition it maintains the specific shape of the cell. Enlargement and division of the murein sacculus is a prerequisite for growth of the bacterium. Two groups of enzymes, hydrolases and synthases, have to cooperate to allow the insertion of new subunits into the murein net. The action of these enzymes must be well coordinated to guarantee growth of the stress-bearing sacculus without risking bacteriolysis. Protein-protein interaction studies suggest that this is accomplished by the formation of a multienzyme complex, a murein-synthesizing machinery combining murein hydrolases and synthases. Enlargement of both the multilayered murein of gram-positive and the thin, single-layered murein of gram-negative bacteria seems to follow an inside-to-outside growth strategy. New material is hooked in a relaxed state underneath the stress-bearing sacculus before it becomes inserted upon cleavage of covalent bonds in the layer(s) under tension. A model is presented that postulates that maintenance of bacterial shape is achieved by the enzyme complex copying the preexisting murein sacculus that plays the role of a template.

* Mailing address: Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, Abteilung Biochemie, Spemannstraße 35, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany. Phone: 07071 601 412. Fax: 07071 601 447. E-mail: joachim-volker.hoeltje{at}mpib-tuebingen.mpg.de.

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev, March 1998, p. 181-203, Vol. 62, No. 1
1092-2172/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
Appl. Environ. Microbiol. Infect. Immun. Eukaryot. Cell
Mol. Cell. Biol. J. Virol. J. Bacteriol.
ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 1998 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.