Peptidoglycan (PG) is an essential component of the bacterial exoskeleton that plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of cell shape and resistance to cell lysis under high turgor pressures. The synthesis and degradation of PG must be tightly regulated during bacterial cell elongation and division. Unlike enzymes involved in PG synthesis, PG hydrolases show high redundancy in many bacteria including Escherichia coli. In this study, we showed that PG endopeptidases have distinct roles in cell growth and division. Phenotypic analysis of mutants lacking one of seven PG endopeptidases identified a MepM-specific phenotype, salt sensitivity, and a MepS-specific phenotype, EDTA sensitivity. Complementation test in each phenotype showed that the phenotype of the mepM mutant was restored only by MepM, whereas the phenotype of the mepS mutant was restored by MepS or by overexpression of MepH, PbpG, or MepM. These distinct phenotypes depend on both the specific localizations and specific domains of MepM and MepS. Finally, using the identified phenotypes, we revealed that MepM and MepH were genetically associated with both penicillin-binding protein 1a (PBP1a) and PBP1b, whereas MepS and PbpG were genetically associated with only PBP1b. Notably, a defect in PBP1a or PBP1b phenocopied the mepM mutant, suggesting the importance of MepM on PG synthesis. Therefore, our results indicate that each PG endopeptidase plays a distinct role in cell growth and division, depending on its distinct domains and cellular localizations.

Peptidoglycan (PG) hydrolases play important roles in various aspects of bacterial physiology, including cytokinesis, PG synthesis, quality control of PG, PG recycling, and antibiotic resistance. However, the regulatory mechanisms of their expression are poorly understood. In this study, we have uncovered novel regulatory mechanisms of the protein levels of the synthetically lethal PG endopeptidases MepS and MepM, which are involved in PG synthesis. A mutant defective for both MepS and MepM was lethal in an amino acid-rich medium, whereas it exhibited almost normal growth in a minimal medium, suggesting the expendability of MepS and MepM in a minimal medium. Protein levels of MepS and MepM dramatically decreased in the minimal medium. Although MepM was revealed as a substrate of Prc, a periplasmic protease involved in the proteolysis of MepS, only the decrease in the MepS level in the minimal medium was affected by the prc depletion. Phenotypic and biochemical analyses showed that the presence of aromatic amino acids in the medium induced the accumulation of MepS, but not MepM, while the presence of glutamate increased the level of MepM, but not MepS. Together, these results demonstrate that the protein levels of the two major PG endopeptidases are regulated in an amino acid availability-dependent manner, but their molecular mechanisms and signaling are significantly distinct.

No abstract