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Publication Abstract from PubMed

The elongasome, or Rod system, is a protein complex that controls cell wall formation in rod-shaped bacteria. MreC is a membrane-associated elongasome component that co-localizes with the cytoskeletal element MreB and regulates the activity of cell wall biosynthesis enzymes, in a process that may be dependent on MreC self-association. Here, we use electron cryo-microscopy and X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of a self-associated form of MreC from Pseudomonas aeruginosa in atomic detail. MreC monomers interact in head-to-tail fashion. Longitudinal and lateral interfaces are essential for oligomerization in vitro, and a phylogenetic analysis of proteobacterial MreC sequences indicates the prevalence of the identified interfaces. Our results are consistent with a model where MreC's ability to alternate between self-association and interaction with the cell wall biosynthesis machinery plays a key role in the regulation of elongasome activity.

Self-association of MreC as a regulatory signal in bacterial cell wall elongation.,Martins A, Contreras-Martel C, Janet-Maitre M, Miyachiro MM, Estrozi LF, Trindade DM, Malospirito CC, Rodrigues-Costa F, Imbert L, Job V, Schoehn G, Attree I, Dessen A Nat Commun. 2021 May 20;12(1):2987. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-22957-9. PMID:34016967^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.