ArticleNature microbiology2021
A two-track model for the spatiotemporal coordination of bacterial septal cell wall synthesis revealed by single-molecule imaging of FtsW.
Article in Nature microbiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers.
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63 citing papers in PubMed, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- RodZ acts through MreBCD to activate the elongasome inJournal of bacteriology · 2026Article
- Defining the order of assembly of theJournal of bacteriology · 2026Article
- Altered regulation of septal peptidoglycan synthesis modulates β-lactam susceptibility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.PLoS genetics · 2026Article
- The penicillin-binding protein PBP1b fortifies the Escherichia coli division site against osmotic rupture.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
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- Methicillin treatment reveals that FtsZ phosphorylation influences the cell division ofPNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Direct interaction between MreB and the RodA-PBP2 complex organizes lateral cell wall synthesis inmLife · 2026Article
- Defining the order of assembly of thebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
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- Essentialome-Wide Multigenerational Imaging Reveals Mechanistic Origins of Cell Growth Laws.bioRxiv : 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
- Peptidoglycan polymerase function and regulation.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2025Review
- RagB stimulates the activity of the peptidoglycan polymerase RodA in Bacillus subtilis.EMBO reports · 2025Article
- The hit-and-run of cell wall synthesis: LpoB transiently binds and activates PBP1b through a conserved allosteric switch.Nature communications · 2025Article
- FtsZ-mediated spatial-temporal control over septal cell wall synthesis.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Transient inhibition of cell division in competent pneumococcal cells results from deceleration of the septal peptidoglycan complex.Nature communications · 2025Article
- A novel mechanism for bacterial sporulation based on programmed peptidoglycan degradation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- SpoIIE drives asymmetric cell division inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Third track model for coordination of septal peptidoglycan synthesis and degradation by FtsN in Escherichia coli.Nature microbiology · 2025Article
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Synthesis of septal peptidoglycan (sPG) is crucial for bacterial cell division. FtsW, an indispensable component of the cell division machinery in all walled bacterial species, was recently identified in vitro as a peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase (PGTase). Despite its importance, the septal PGTase activity of FtsW has not been demonstrated in vivo. How its activity is spatiotemporally regulated in vivo has also remained elusive. Here, we confirmed FtsW as an essential septum-specific PGTase in vivo using an N-acetylmuramic acid analogue incorporation assay. Next, using single-molecule tracking coupled with genetic manipulations, we identified two populations of processively moving FtsW molecules: a fast-moving population correlated with the treadmilling dynamics of the essential cytoskeletal FtsZ protein and a slow-moving population dependent on active sPG synthesis. We further identified that FtsN, a potential sPG synthesis activator, plays an important role in promoting the slow-moving population. Our results suggest a two-track model, in which inactive sPG synthases follow the 'Z-track' to be distributed along the septum and FtsN promotes their release from the Z-track to become active in sPG synthesis on the slow 'sPG-track'. This model provides a mechanistic framework for the spatiotemporal coordination of sPG synthesis in bacterial cell division.
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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.