This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by van Heijenoort, Y Articles by van Heijenoort, J Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by van Heijenoort, Y Articles by van Heijenoort, J

research-article

Membrane intermediates in the peptidoglycan metabolism of Escherichia coli: possible roles of PBP 1b and PBP 3.

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France.

ABSTRACT

The two membrane precursors (pentapeptide lipids I and II) of peptidoglycan are present in Escherichia coli at cell copy numbers no higher than 700 and 2,000 respectively. Conditions were determined for an optimal accumulation of pentapeptide lipid II from UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide in a cell-free system and for its isolation and purification. When UDP-MurNAc-tripeptide was used in the accumulation reaction, tripeptide lipid II was formed, and it was isolated and purified. Both lipids II were compared as substrates in the in vitro polymerization by transglycosylation assayed with PBP 1b or PBP 3. With PBP 1b, tripeptide lipid II was used as efficiently as pentapeptide lipid II. It should be stressed that the in vitro PBP 1b activity accounts for at best to 2 to 3% of the in vivo synthesis. With PBP 3, no polymerization was observed with either substrate. Furthermore, tripeptide lipid II was detected in D-cycloserine-treated cells, and its possible in vivo use in peptidoglycan formation is discussed. In particular, it is speculated that the transglycosylase activity of PBP 1b could be coupled with the transpeptidase activity of PBP 3, using mainly tripeptide lipid II as precursor.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Touze, T., Blanot, D., Mengin-Lecreulx, D. (2008). Substrate Specificity and Membrane Topology of Escherichia coli PgpB, an Undecaprenyl Pyrophosphate Phosphatase. J. Biol. Chem. 283: 16573-16583 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Uehara, T., Park, J. T. (2008). Growth of Escherichia coli: Significance of Peptidoglycan Degradation during Elongation and Septation. J. Bacteriol. 190: 3914-3922 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van Heijenoort, J. (2007). Lipid Intermediates in the Biosynthesis of Bacterial Peptidoglycan. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 71: 620-635 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Chaput, C., Labigne, A., Boneca, I. G. (2007). Characterization of Helicobacter pylori Lytic Transglycosylases Slt and MltD. J. Bacteriol. 189: 422-429 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hasper, H. E., Kramer, N. E., Smith, J. L., Hillman, J. D., Zachariah, C., Kuipers, O. P., de Kruijff, B., Breukink, E. (2006). An alternative bactericidal mechanism of action for lantibiotic peptides that target lipid II.. Science 313: 1636-1637 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• El Ghachi, M., Bouhss, A., Barreteau, H., Touze, T., Auger, G., Blanot, D., Mengin-Lecreulx, D. (2006). Colicin M Exerts Its Bacteriolytic Effect via Enzymatic Degradation of Undecaprenyl Phosphate-linked Peptidoglycan Precursors. J. Biol. Chem. 281: 22761-22772 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Boniface, A., Bouhss, A., Mengin-Lecreulx, D., Blanot, D. (2006). The MurE Synthetase from Thermotoga maritima Is Endowed with an Unusual D-Lysine Adding Activity. J. Biol. Chem. 281: 15680-15686 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Terrak, M., Nguyen-Disteche, M. (2006). Kinetic Characterization of the Monofunctional Glycosyltransferase from Staphylococcus aureus.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 2528-2532 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Zawadzka-Skomial, J., Markiewicz, Z., Nguyen-Disteche, M., Devreese, B., Frere, J.-M., Terrak, M. (2006). Characterization of the Bifunctional Glycosyltransferase/Acyltransferase Penicillin-Binding Protein 4 of Listeria monocytogenes.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 1875-1881 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bertsche, U., Breukink, E., Kast, T., Vollmer, W. (2005). In Vitro Murein (Peptidoglycan) Synthesis by Dimers of the Bifunctional Transglycosylase-Transpeptidase PBP1B from Escherichia coli. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 38096-38101 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Price, N. P., Momany, F. A. (2005). Modeling bacterial UDP-HexNAc: polyprenol-P HexNAc-1-P transferases. Glycobiology 15: 29R-42R [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Mahapatra, S., Yagi, T., Belisle, J. T., Espinosa, B. J., Hill, P. J., McNeil, M. R., Brennan, P. J., Crick, D. C. (2005). Mycobacterial Lipid II Is Composed of a Complex Mixture of Modified Muramyl and Peptide Moieties Linked to Decaprenyl Phosphate. J. Bacteriol. 187: 2747-2757 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Barrett, D., Leimkuhler, C., Chen, L., Walker, D., Kahne, D., Walker, S. (2005). Kinetic Characterization of the Glycosyltransferase Module of Staphylococcus aureus PBP2. J. Bacteriol. 187: 2215-2217 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ruzin, A., Singh, G., Severin, A., Yang, Y., Dushin, R. G., Sutherland, A. G., Minnick, A., Greenstein, M., May, M. K., Shlaes, D. M., Bradford, P. A. (2004). Mechanism of Action of the Mannopeptimycins, a Novel Class of Glycopeptide Antibiotics Active against Vancomycin-Resistant Gram-Positive Bacteria. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 48: 728-738 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McPherson, D. C., Popham, D. L. (2003). Peptidoglycan Synthesis in the Absence of Class A Penicillin-Binding Proteins in Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 185: 1423-1431 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Goffin, C., Ghuysen, J.-M. (2002). Biochemistry and Comparative Genomics of SxxK Superfamily Acyltransferases Offer a Clue to the Mycobacterial Paradox: Presence of Penicillin-Susceptible Target Proteins versus Lack of Efficiency of Penicillin as Therapeutic Agent. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 66: 702-738 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ruzin, A., Severin, A., Ritacco, F., Tabei, K., Singh, G., Bradford, P. A., Siegel, M. M., Projan, S. J., Shlaes, D. M. (2002). Further Evidence that a Cell Wall Precursor [C55-MurNAc-(Peptide)-GlcNAc] Serves as an Acceptor in a Sorting Reaction. J. Bacteriol. 184: 2141-2147 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• de Pedro, M. A., Donachie, W. D., Holtje, J.-V., Schwarz, H. (2001). Constitutive Septal Murein Synthesis in Escherichia coli with Impaired Activity of the Morphogenetic Proteins RodA and Penicillin-Binding Protein 2. J. Bacteriol. 183: 4115-4126 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Heijenoort, J. v. (2001). Formation of the glycan chains in the synthesis of bacterial peptidoglycan. Glycobiology 11: 25R-36R [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Chalut, C., Charpentier, X., Remy, M.-H., Masson, J.-M. (2001). Differential Responses of Escherichia coli Cells Expressing Cytoplasmic Domain Mutants of Penicillin-Binding Protein 1b after Impairment of Penicillin-Binding Proteins 1a and 3. J. Bacteriol. 183: 200-206 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Baizman, E. R., Branstrom, A. A., Longley, C. B., Allanson, N., Sofia, M. J., Gange, D., Goldman, R. C. (2000). Antibacterial activity of synthetic analogues based on the disaccharide structure of moenomycin, an inhibitor of bacterial transglycosylase. Microbiology 146: 3129-3140 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van Heijenoort, J., Gutmann, L. (2000). Correlation between the structure of the bacterial peptidoglycan monomer unit, the specificity of transpeptidation, and susceptibility to beta -lactams. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97: 5028-5030 [Full Text]  
• Breukink, E., Wiedemann, I., Kraaij, C. v., Kuipers, O. P., Sahl, H., de Kruijff, B. (1999). Use of the Cell Wall Precursor Lipid II by a Pore-Forming Peptide Antibiotic. Science 286: 2361-2364 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Atrih, A., Bacher, G., Allmaier, G., Williamson, M. P., Foster, S. J. (1999). Analysis of Peptidoglycan Structure from Vegetative Cells of Bacillus subtilis 168 and Role of PBP 5 in Peptidoglycan Maturation. J. Bacteriol. 181: 3956-3966 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Pedersen, L. B., Angert, E. R., Setlow, P. (1999). Septal Localization of Penicillin-Binding Protein 1 in Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 181: 3201-3211 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Pfanzagl, B., Löffelhardt, W. (1999). In Vitro Synthesis of Peptidoglycan Precursors Modified with N-Acetylputrescine by Cyanophora paradoxa Cyanelle Envelope Membranes. J. Bacteriol. 181: 2643-2647 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Apfel, C. M., Takács, B., Fountoulakis, M., Stieger, M., Keck, W. (1999). Use of Genomics To Identify Bacterial Undecaprenyl Pyrophosphate Synthetase: Cloning, Expression, and Characterization of the Essential uppS Gene. J. Bacteriol. 181: 483-492 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Di Guilmi, A. M., Mouz, N., Andrieu, J.-P., Hoskins, J., Jaskunas, S. R., Gagnon, J., Dideberg, O., Vernet, T. (1998). Identification, Purification, and Characterization of Transpeptidase and Glycosyltransferase Domains of Streptococcus pneumoniae Penicillin-Binding Protein 1a. J. Bacteriol. 180: 5652-5659 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Nanninga, N. (1998). Morphogenesis of Escherichia coli. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 62: 110-129 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Brötz, H., Bierbaum, G., Leopold, K., Reynolds, P. E., Sahl, H.-G. (1998). The Lantibiotic Mersacidin Inhibits Peptidoglycan Synthesis by Targeting Lipid II. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 42: 154-160 [Abstract] [Full Text]