Loss of O-antigen increases cell shape abnormalities in penicillin-binding protein mutants ofEscherichia coli
Open Access
- 1 October 2006
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in FEMS Microbiology Letters
- Vol. 263 (2) , 252-257
Abstract
Escherichia coli mutants lacking multiple penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) produce aberrantly shaped cells. However, most of these experiments have been performed in E. coli K12 strains, which do not attach a complete O-antigen to their outer membrane lipopolysaccharide. We constructed mutants in different genetic backgrounds and found that the frequency of morphological deformities was higher in strains lacking the O-antigen. Also, complementing O-negative mutants with a heterologous O-antigen from Klebsiella returned a substantial fraction of misshapen cells to a normal morphology. Thus, the O-antigen contributes to cell shape in E. coli, perhaps by reducing the number of ectopic poles, which may be the proximal cause of shape abnormalities.Keywords
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