Morphogenesis of Escherichia coli

Morphogenesis of the rod-shaped Escherichia coli is determined by controlled growth of an exoskeleton made of murein (peptidoglycan). Recent insights in the growth strategy of the stress-bearing murein sacculus has contributed to our understanding of how the required concerted action of murein polym...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current Opinion in Microbiology 2001-12, Vol.4 (6), p.625-633
Main Authors: Vollmer, Waldemar, Höltje, Joachim-Volker
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
bacterial morphogenesis
Cell Division
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli - cytology
Escherichia coli - enzymology
Escherichia coli - growth & development
Morphogenesis
multienzyme complex
Murein
murein hydrolases
murein recycling
murein sacculus
murein turnover
penicillin-binding proteins
peptidoglycan
Peptidoglycan - metabolism
ß-lactamase induction
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Summary:Morphogenesis of the rod-shaped Escherichia coli is determined by controlled growth of an exoskeleton made of murein (peptidoglycan). Recent insights in the growth strategy of the stress-bearing murein sacculus has contributed to our understanding of how the required concerted action of murein polymerizing and hydrolyzing enzymes is achieved. The proteins involved are coordinated by the formation of multienzyme complexes. In this review, we summarize the recent results on murein structure and metabolism. On the basis of these findings, we present a model that explains maintenance of the specific rod shape of E. coli. During growth and division, bacteria accomplish a masterly performance in engineering: they precisely enlarge and divide their cell wall, which must resist an intracellular pressure of several atmospheres without losing shape or mechanical strength.
ISSN:1369-5274
1879-0364
DOI:10.1016/S1369-5274(01)00261-2