Disruption of PG biosynthesis by inhibition of the enzymes responsible for its formation or sequestration of a key substrate intermediate, can be lethal to bacteria and has been the basis for life saving β-lactam chemotherapy for decades ( Bush and Bradford, 2016).Īdditionally, proper growth and division requires the coordinated remodelling of existing PG by dedicated PG hydrolases that degrade and modify its polymeric form, thus enabling growth and division. The biosynthesis of PG is a complex process performed by dedicated enzymes and protein complexes that begins in the cytoplasm and continues outside the cell membrane ( Typas et al., 2012). PG provides cell shape and resistance to turgor pressure and is a distinctive structural and chemical feature of bacteria, making it a widely used antibiotic target ( Macheboeuf et al., 2006 den Blaauwen et al., 2014 Bush and Bradford, 2016). PG is a three-dimensional mesh of glycan strands crosslinked together by short peptide stems.
This includes degradation or remodelling of the “old” cell wall PG sacculus outside the cell membrane and the creation of new PG for daughter cells ( Typas et al., 2012 Massidda et al., 2013 Egan et al., 2020). Coordination between these components is critical for successful cell division, as many of the control checkpoints rely on signals from the cytoplasmic face of the membrane being used to regulate events outside the cell ( Trusca et al., 1998 Haeusser and Margolin, 2016 Willis and Huang, 2017 Egan et al., 2020). It is heavily reliant on the coordination of peptidoglycan (PG) synthesis outside the cell membrane with molecular events occurring inside the cell, such as chromosome replication and separation, as well as membrane invagination and septation ( Egan and Vollmer, 2013). pneumoniae, including the involvement of virulence factors and capsular polysaccharides.īacterial cell division is a fundamental and highly regulated process. We will discuss the interaction of proteins in the divisome complex that underpin the control mechanisms for cell division and cell wall synthesis and remodelling that are required in S. This review will provide an overview of the key protein complexes and how they are involved in cell division. Recent findings have advanced our understanding of the molecular events surrounding this process and have provided new understanding of the mechanisms that occur during the division of pneumococcus. 3Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, United KingdomĬell division in Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is performed and regulated by a protein complex consisting of at least 14 different protein elements known as the divisome.2Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States.1School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.