Cell shape and antibiotic resistance is maintained by the activity of multiple FtsW and RodA enzymes in Listeria monocytogenes
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Published version
Author(s)
Rismondo, Jeanine
Halbedel, Sven
Grundling, Angelika
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Rod-shaped bacteria have two modes of peptidoglycan synthesis: lateral synthesis and synthesis at the cell division site. These two processes are controlled by two macromolecular protein complexes, the elongasome and divisome. Recently, it has been shown that the Bacillus subtilis RodA protein, which forms part of the elongasome, has peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase activity. The cell division specific RodA homolog FtsW fulfils a similar role at the divisome. The human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes encodes up to six FtsW/RodA homologs, however their functions have not yet been investigated. Analysis of deletion and depletion strains led to the identification of the essential cell division-specific FtsW protein, FtsW1. Interestingly, L. monocytogenes encodes a second FtsW protein, FtsW2, which can compensate for the lack of FtsW1, when expressed from an inducible promoter. L. monocytogenes also possesses three RodA homologs, RodA1, RodA2 and RodA3 and their combined absence is lethal. Cells of a rodA1/rodA3 double mutant are shorter and have increased antibiotic and lysozyme sensitivity, probably due to a weakened cell wall. Results from promoter activity assays revealed that expression of rodA3 and ftsW2 is induced in the presence of antibiotics targeting penicillin binding proteins. Consistent with this, a rodA3 mutant was more susceptible to the β-lactam antibiotic cefuroxime. Interestingly, overexpression of RodA3 also led to increased cefuroxime sensitivity. Our study highlights that L. monocytogenes encodes a multitude of functional FtsW and RodA enzymes to produce its rigid cell wall and that their expression needs to be tightly regulated to maintain growth, cell division and antibiotic resistance.
Date Issued
2019-08-06
Date Acceptance
2019-07-08
Citation
mBio, 2019, 10 (4), pp.1-17
ISSN
2150-7511
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Start Page
1
End Page
17
Journal / Book Title
mBio
Volume
10
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© 2019 Rismondo et al. This is an
open-access article distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
open-access article distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Sponsor
Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Trust
Identifier
https://mbio.asm.org/content/10/4/e01448-19/
Grant Number
100289/Z/12/Z
210671/Z/18/Z
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Microbiology
FtsW
Listeria monocytogenes
RodA
SEDS
antibiotic resistance
cell division
PENICILLIN-BINDING-PROTEINS
LIPID II FLIPPASE
BACILLUS-SUBTILIS
BACTERIAL-CELL
STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS
ESCHERICHIA-COLI
PEPTIDOGLYCAN POLYMERASE
WALL BIOGENESIS
DIVISION GENE
IDENTIFICATION
FtsW
Listeria monocytogenes
RodA
SEDS
antibiotic resistance
cell division
0605 Microbiology
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2019-08-06