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Journal of Bacteriology, February 2003, p. 1147-1152, Vol. 185, No. 4
0021-9193/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.185.4.1147-1152.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Branching of Escherichia coli Cells Arises from Multiple Sites of Inert Peptidoglycan{dagger}

Miguel A. de Pedro,1* Kevin D. Young,2 Joachim-Volker Höltje,3 and Heinz Schwarz3

Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa," Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain,1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202-9037 ,2 Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany3

Received 5 July 2002/ Accepted 13 November 2002

Some strains of Escherichia coli defective for dacA, the gene coding for penicillin-binding protein 5, exhibit a strong branching phenotype when cell division is blocked. Since such branch formation implies a differentiation of polar caps at ectopic locations in the cell envelope, we analyzed murein segregation and observed a strong correlation between areas of inert murein and these morphological anomalies. In particular, the tips of branches exhibited the same properties as those described for polar caps of wild-type cells, i.e., the synthesis and turnover of murein were inhibited. Also, the mobility of cell envelope proteins was apparently constrained in areas with morphological defects. Polar regions of branching cells and sacculi had aberrant morphologies with a very high frequency. Of special interest was that areas of inert murein at polar caps were often split by areas of active synthesis, a situation unlike that observed in wild-type cells. These observations suggest that in dacA mutants, branches and other morphological anomalies may arise from split polar caps or by de novo generation of new poles built around inert peptidoglycan patches in the side walls of the cell.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa," CSIC-UAM, Facultad de Ciencias UAM, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain. Phone: (34) 913978083. Fax: (34) 913978087. E-mail: madepedro{at}cbm.uam.es.

{dagger} For a commentary on this article, see page 1125 in this issue.

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2003, p. 1147-1152, Vol. 185, No. 4
0021-9193/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.185.4.1147-1152.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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