mreD

MreD is a cell shape determining protein, it couples the cytosolic MreB and MreB-like proteins to the extracellular peptidoglycan-synthesizing machinery, part of the Rod complex for lateral cell wall synthesis and control of cell diameter

Locus: BSU_28010

Isoelectric point: 7.91

Molecular weight: 19.67 kDa

Protein length: 172 aa

Gene length: 519 bp

Function: cell shape determation

Product: cell shape-determining protein

Essential: yes

Synonyms: rodB

Genomic Context

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Categories containing this gene/protein

• Cellular processes → Cell envelope and cell division → Cell shape
• Lifestyles → Coping with stress → Cell envelope stress proteins (controlled by SigM, V, W, X, Y)
• Groups of genes → Essential genes
• Groups of genes → Membrane proteins

Gene

Coordinates: 2,859,317 2,859,835

Phenotypes of a mutant

• the phenotype of mreD is similar to that of ''mreC
• mreD is essential under normal conditions PubMed
• Depletion of MreD leads to a progressive increase in the width and a decrease in the length of the cell and cells become lytic. In the depletion strain, lysis can be prevented and cell growth, but not cell shape, can be recovered by inculaion of Magnesium in the media. This shape defect is consistent with a role for mreD in cell wall synthesis during elongation and has a similar phenotype to other genes with roles in elongation.

The protein

Catalyzed reaction/ biological activity

• None/ structural

Protein family

• mreD family (single member, according to UniProt)

Structure

• None

Localization

• trans-membrane protein PubMed
• during logarithmic growth, MreD forms discrete patches thst move processively along peripheral tracks perpendicular to the cell axis PubMed
• forms transverse bands as cells enter the stationary phase PubMed
• reports on helical structures formed by MreD PubMed seem to be misinterpretation of data PubMed

Expression and Regulation

Operons

• Genes: mreB-mreC-mreD-minC-minD
  Description: PubMed

  Sigma factors

  • SigA: sigma factor, promoter p1, upstream of Maf PubMed, in SigA regulon
  • SigM: sigma factor, promoter p2, within Maf PubMed, in SigM regulon
  • SigH: sigma factor, promoter p4, upstream of MinC PubMed, in SigH regulon

  Regulatory mechanism

  • ComK: activation, PubMed, in ComK regulon

  Regulation

  • constitutively expressed PubMed

• Genes: maf-radC-mreB-mreC-mreD-minC-minD
  Description: PubMed

  Sigma factors

  • SigM: sigma factor, promoter p2 within Maf PubMed, in SigM regulon
  • SigA: sigma factor, promoter p1, upstream of Maf PubMed, in SigA regulon

  Regulatory mechanism

  • ComK: activation, PubMed, in ComK regulon

  Regulation

  • constitutively expressed PubMed

Biological materials

Mutant

• A conditional mutant with an inframe deletion of mreD complemented by a xylose inducible copy at an ectopic locus (strain named 4352) is avaliable from the Errington Group.

GFP fusion

• A functional N-terminal GFP fusion has been made where the fusion protein is the only copy of the gene in the cell: strain 3416 PubMed.

Labs working on this gene/protein

• Peter Graumann, Freiburg University, Germany homepage

References

Localization

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Other original publications

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