A Periplasmic Polymer Curves Vibrio cholerae and Promotes Pathogenesis

Abstract

Summary Pathogenic Vibrio cholerae remains a major human health concern. V. cholerae has a characteristic curved rod morphology, with a longer outer face and a shorter inner face. Previously, the mechanism and function of this curvature were unknown. Here we identify and characterize CrvA, the first curvature determinant in V. cholerae. CrvA self-assembles into filaments at the inner face of cell curvature. Unlike traditional cytoskeletons, CrvA localizes to the periplasm, and thus could be considered a periskeletal element. To quantify how curvature forms, we developed QuASAR (Quantitative Analysis of Sacculus Architecture Remodeling), which measures subcellular peptidoglycan dynamics. QuASAR reveals that CrvA asymmetrically patterns peptidoglycan insertion rather than removal, causing more material insertion into the outer face than the inner face. Furthermore, crvA is quorum regulated and CrvA-dependent curvature increases at high cell density. Finally, we demonstrate that CrvA promotes motility in hydrogels and confers an advantage in host colonization and pathogenesis.

The Helicobacter pylori cell shape promoting protein Csd5 interacts with the cell wall, MurF, and the bacterial cytoskeleton

“…While curvature generation in curved-rod organisms such as Caulobacter crescentus and Vibrio cholera is thought to result from biased PG insertion along the outer curve of the cell, opposite inner curvature-localized cytoskeletal or periskeletal cell spanning filaments (Cabeen et al, 2009;Bartlett et al, 2017), helical curvature of H.…”

Chromosome Translocation Inflates Bacillus Forespores and Impacts Cellular Morphology

“…It is generally accepted that cell shape is determined by the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall. The molecular mechanisms involved in cell wall homeostasis are starting to be deciphered, leading to the emergence of models for the maintenance of basic shapes (Amir and Nelson, 2012; Bartlett et al, 2017; Cabeen et al, 2009; Nguyen et al, 2015; Pinho et al, 2013; Ursell et al, 2014). However, it is unclear how the cell wall and other cellular components interact to generate the shape of bacterial cells.…”

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