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D-Alanyl Ester Depletion of Teichoic Acids in Lactobacillus plantarum Results in a Major Modification of Lipoteichoic Acid Composition and Cell Wall Perforations at the Septum Mediated by the Acm2 Autolysin

Emmanuelle Palumbo,^1, Marie Deghorain,¹ Pier Sandro Cocconcelli,² Michiel Kleerebezem,³ Armin Geyer,⁴ Thomas Hartung,⁵ Siegfried Morath,⁵ and Pascal Hols^1*

Unité de Génétique, Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université catholique de Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium,¹ Istituto di Microbiologia, Università Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore, 29100 Piacenza, Italy,² Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences, NIZO Food Research, 6710 BA Ede, The Netherlands,³ Institute for Organic Chemistry, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany,⁴ EU Joint Research Centre, ECVAM, Ispra, Italy⁵

Received 22 November 2005/ Accepted 27 February 2006

The insertional inactivation of the dlt operon from Lactobacillus plantarum NCIMB8826 had a strong impact on lipoteichoic acid (LTA) composition, resulting in a major reduction in D-alanyl ester content. Unexpectedly, mutant LTA showed high levels of glucosylation and were threefold longer than wild-type LTA. The dlt mutation resulted in a reduced growth rate and increased cell lysis during the exponential and stationary growth phases. Microscopy analysis revealed increased cell length, damaged dividing cells, and perforations of the envelope in the septal region. The observed defects in the separation process, cell envelope perforation, and autolysis of the dlt mutant could be partially attributed to the L. plantarum Acm2 peptidoglycan hydrolase.

Present address: Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Dipartimento di Biologia Molecolare, Università degli Studi di Siena (UNISI), Siena, Italy.

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