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Prokaryotic multicellularity: a nanopore array for bacterial cell communication
Author(s) -
Lehner Josef,
Berendt Susanne,
Dörsam Bastian,
Pérez Rebeca,
Forchhammer Karl,
Maldener Iris
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fj.12-225854
Subject(s) - multicellular organism , organelle , microbiology and biotechnology , cell , biology , peptidoglycan , cell wall , cell type , ultrastructure , amidase , bacterial cell structure , nectin , biophysics , chemistry , cell adhesion , anatomy , bacteria , biochemistry , genetics
The transition from unicellular to multicellular life, which occurred several times during evolution, requires tight interaction and communication of neighboring cells. The multicellular cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 forms filaments of hundreds of interacting cells exchanging metabolites and signal molecules and is able to differentiate specialized cells in response to environmental stimuli. Mutation of cell wall amidase AmiC2 leads to a severe phenotype with formation of aberrant septa in the distorted filaments, which completely lack cell communication and potential for cell differentiation. Here we demonstrate the function of the amidase AmiC2 in formation of cell‐joining structures. The AmiC2 protein localizes to the young septum between cells and shows bona fide amidase activity in vivo and in vitro. Vancomycin staining identified the overall septum morphology in living cells. By electron microscopy of isolated peptidoglycan sacculi, the submicroscopic structure of the cell junctions could be visualized, revealing a novel function for a cell wall amidase: AmiC2 drills holes into the cross‐walls, forming an array of ~155 nanopores with a diameter of ~20 nm each. These nanopores seem to constitute a framework for cell‐joining proteins, penetrating the cell wall. The entire array of junctional nanopores appears as a novel bacterial organelle, establishing multicellularity in a filamentous prokaryote.—Lehner, J., Berendt, S., Dörsam, B., Pérez, R., Forchhammer, K., Maldener, I. Prokaryotic multicellularity: a nanopore array for bacterial cell communication. FASEB J. 27, 2293–2300 (2013). www.fasebj.org