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Growth medium-dependent glycine incorporation into the peptidoglycan of Caulobacter crescentus

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Nhat Khai Bui, Professor Waldemar Vollmer

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Abstract

The peptidoglycan (PG) is a macromolecular component of the bacterial cell wall that maintains the shape and integrity of the cell. The PG of Caulobacter crescentus, unlike that of many other Gram-negative bacteria, has repeatedly been shown to contain significant amounts of glycine. This compositional peculiarity has been deemed an intrinsic characteristic of this species. By performing a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of the C. crescentus PG by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS), we show here that glycine incorporation into the C. crescentus PG depends on the presence of exogenous glycine in the growth medium. High levels of glycine were detected at the fifth position of the peptide side chains of PG isolated from C. crescentus cells grown in the complex laboratory medium PYE or in defined medium (M2G) supplemented with casamino acids or glycine alone. In contrast, glycine incorporation was undetectable when cells were grown in M2G medium lacking glycine. Remarkably, glycine incorporation into C. crescentus peptidoglycan occurred even in the presence of low millimolar to sub-millimolar concentrations of free glycine. High glycine content in the PG had no obvious effects on growth rates, mode of PG incorporation or cell morphology. Hence, the C. crescentus PG is able to retain its physiological functions in cell growth and morphogenesis despite significant alterations in its composition, in what we deem to be unprecedented plasticity.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Takacs CN, Hocking J, Cabeen MT, Bui NK, Poggio S, Vollmer W, Jacobs-Wagner C

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: PLoS One

Year: 2013

Volume: 8

Issue: 2

Print publication date: 01/02/2013

Date deposited: 24/04/2013

ISSN (electronic): 1932-6203

Publisher: Public Library of Science

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057579

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057579


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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
NSF GRFP
Yale College Dean's Office Science, Technology and Research Scholars (STARS II) fellowship
Mustard Seed Foundation
PEW Latin American Fellowship
GM076698National Institutes of Health
FP7-Health-2007-B-223431DIVINOCELL project of the European Commission
GM065835National Institutes of Health

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