Featured Publications
Maturing Mycobacterium smegmatis peptidoglycan requires non-canonical crosslinks to maintain shape
Baranowski C, Welsh M, Sham L, Eskandarian H, Lim H, Kieser K, Wagner J, McKinney J, Fantner G, Ioerger T, Walker S, Bernhardt T, Rubin E, Rego E. Maturing Mycobacterium smegmatis peptidoglycan requires non-canonical crosslinks to maintain shape. ELife 2018, 7: e37516. PMID: 30324906, PMCID: PMC6231781, DOI: 10.7554/elife.37516.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPenicillin-binding proteinsAsymmetric polar growthRod-shaped bacteriaPolar growthPolar elongationShape maintenanceCell wallGenetic relationshipsDrug targetsUnusual crosslinksD-transpeptidasesSingle cellsPeptidoglycanCellsCrosslinksProteinMycobacteriaBacteriaPathogensTypes of crosslinksElongationGrowthMaintenanceTarget
2022
Cell Wall Damage Reveals Spatial Flexibility in Peptidoglycan Synthesis and a Nonredundant Role for RodA in Mycobacteria
Melzer E, Kado T, García-Heredia A, Gupta K, Meniche X, Morita Y, Sassetti C, Rego E, Siegrist M. Cell Wall Damage Reveals Spatial Flexibility in Peptidoglycan Synthesis and a Nonredundant Role for RodA in Mycobacteria. Journal Of Bacteriology 2022, 204: e00540-21. PMID: 35543537, PMCID: PMC9210966, DOI: 10.1128/jb.00540-21.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPenicillin binding proteinsCell wall damagePeptidoglycan synthesisPeptidoglycan assemblyClass A Penicillin-Binding ProteinsNascent cell wallCell wall integrityCell wall assemblyCell-wall peptidoglycanCell wall synthesisRod-shaped bacteriaMycobacterium smegmatisPolar growthInternal turgorModel organismsMreB homologsNew inhibition strategyRod complexWall synthesisWall peptidoglycanWall integrityAnimal pathogensCell wallPathway functionSubcellular distribution
2015
Phosphorylation of the Peptidoglycan Synthase PonA1 Governs the Rate of Polar Elongation in Mycobacteria
Kieser K, Boutte C, Kester J, Baer C, Barczak A, Meniche X, Chao M, Rego E, Sassetti C, Fortune S, Rubin E. Phosphorylation of the Peptidoglycan Synthase PonA1 Governs the Rate of Polar Elongation in Mycobacteria. PLOS Pathogens 2015, 11: e1005010. PMID: 26114871, PMCID: PMC4483258, DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005010.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPolar growthPenicillin binding proteinsCell elongationMost rod-shaped bacteriaNew cell wall materialTransglycosylase activityNormal cell lengthCell-wall peptidoglycanNew cell wallHuman pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosisCell lengthRod-shaped bacteriaCell wall materialCell polesCell fitnessPolar elongationPathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosisWall peptidoglycanAntibiotic stressCytoplasmic regionCell wallBinding proteinPonA1Cell growthEnzymatic activity