ArticleNature microbiology2019
Bacillus subtilis cell diameter is determined by the opposing actions of two distinct cell wall synthetic systems.
Article in Nature microbiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 87 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
87 citing papers in PubMed, 150 citations in OpenAlex.
- Wall teichoic acids plug nanopores in Bacillus subtilis cell wall and regulate peptidoglycan synthesis.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- Wall teichoic acids regulate peptidoglycan synthesis to maintain rod shape in Bacillus subtilis.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- A bacterial ally for nitrogen-fixing biofilm: enhancing the rhizosphere colonization ofApplied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Deep-learning deconvolution and segmentation of fluorescent membranes for high-precision bacterial cell-size profiling.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Non-linear stress-softening of peptidoglycan mediates bacterial cell shape homeostasis.Current biology : CB · 2026Article
- Post-translational modifications of GlmR integrate metabolic and stress signals to maintain cell envelope homeostasis in Bacillus subtilis.PLoS genetics · 2026Article
- Alanine-scanning mutagenesis library of MreB reveals distinct roles for regulating cell shape and viability.PLoS genetics · 2026Article
- ThebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Conformational regulation of two essential activators of bacterial cell elongation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Staying in the loop to make ends meet: roles and regulation of GlmR inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Molecular dissection of Class A PBP function uncovers novel features of the non-canonical Clostridioides difficile divisome complex.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- RagB stimulates the activity of the peptidoglycan polymerase RodA in Bacillus subtilis.EMBO reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Molecular dissection of Class A PBP function uncovers novel features of the non-canonicalbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
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- Localization and Single Molecule Dynamics ofCells · 2025Article
- GpsB interacts with FtsZ in multiple species and may serve as an accessory Z-ring anchor.Molecular biology of the cell · 2025Article
- MreC-MreD structure reveals a multifaceted interface that controls MreC conformation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Bacillus subtilis EpsA-O: A novel exopolysaccharide structure acting as an efficient adhesive in biofilms.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2024Article
- The characteristics of autolysins associated with cell separation inJournal of bacteriology · 2024Article
27 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Rod-shaped bacteria grow by adding material into their cell wall via the action of two spatially distinct enzymatic systems: the Rod complex moves around the cell circumference, whereas class A penicillin-binding proteins (aPBPs) do not. To understand how the combined action of these two systems defines bacterial dimensions, we examined how each affects the growth and width of Bacillus subtilis as well as the mechanical anisotropy and orientation of material within their sacculi. Rod width is not determined by MreB, rather it depends on the balance between the systems: the Rod complex reduces diameter, whereas aPBPs increase it. Increased Rod-complex activity correlates with an increased density of directional MreB filaments and a greater fraction of directional PBP2a enzymes. This increased circumferential synthesis increases the relative quantity of oriented material within the sacculi, making them more resistant to stretching across their width, thereby reinforcing rod shape. Together, these experiments explain how the combined action of the two main cell wall synthetic systems builds and maintains rods of different widths. Escherichia coli Rod mutants also show the same correlation between width and directional MreB filament density, suggesting this model may be generalizable to bacteria that elongate via the Rod complex.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.