Elongasome
A protein complex that catalyzes peptidoglycan biosynthesis and is thereby involved in maintaining cell shape
Contents
Complex members
- cell wall biosynthetic enzymes at the outer side of the membrane: penicillin-binding proteins (PbpA, PbpH, perhaps also PbpC, DacC, PbpI)
- transmembrane proteins: MreC, MreD, RodA, RodZ, they couple the cytosolic actin-like proteins to the extracellular peptidoglycan-synthesizing machinery
- actin-like proteins at the inner surface of the membrane: MreB, MreBH, Mbl, the polymers control/restrict the mobility of the cell wall elongation enzyme complex
Related pages
Labs working on the complex
- Rut Carballido-Lopez, Jouy-en-Josas
- Jeff Errington, Newcastle upon Tyne
- David Rudner, New York
Important publications
- Domínguez-Escobar et al. from Rut Carballido-Lopez' lab and Garner et al. report that movement of actin-like filaments is driven by the peptidoglycan elongation machinery. Both papers suggest that the MreB-like filaments serve to restrict the mobility of the peptidoglycan synthesizing machinery
- A comment on these papers:
Andrew Jermy
Bacterial physiology: MreB takes a back seat.
Nat Rev Microbiol: 2011, 9(8);560-1
[PubMed:21725336]
[WorldCat.org]
[DOI]
(I e)
