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Bacterial shape
Author(s) -
Young Kevin D.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2958.2003.03607.x
Subject(s) - peptidoglycan , mreb , biology , ftsz , bacterial cell structure , cell wall , hydrostatic pressure , mutant , microbiology and biotechnology , bacterial protein , periplasmic space , biophysics , cell , bacteria , cytoskeleton , genetics , gene , escherichia coli , physics , thermodynamics
‘Architecture is the adaptation of form to resist force’. John Ruskin (1874)Summary In free‐living eubacteria an external shell of peptidoglycan opposes internal hydrostatic pressure and prevents membrane rupture and death. At the same time, this wall imposes on each cell a shape. Because shape is both stable and heritable, as is the ability of many organisms to execute defined morphological transformations, cells must actively choose from among a large repertoire of available shapes. How they do so has been debated for decades, but recently experiment has begun to catch up with theory. Two discoveries are particularly informative. First, specific protein assemblies, nucleated by FtsZ, MreB or Mbl, appear to act as internal scaffolds that influence cell shape, perhaps by correctly localizing synthetic enzymes. Second, defects in cell shape are correlated with the presence of inappropriately placed, metabolically inert patches of peptidoglycan. When combined with what we know about mutants affecting cellular morphology, these observations suggest that bacteria may fabricate specific shapes by directing the synthesis of two kinds of cell wall: a long‐lived, rigid framework that defines overall topology, and a metabolically plastic peptidoglycan whose shape is directed by internal scaffolds.