Too Much or Not Enough: The Role of mprF in Regulating Overall Phospholipid Content

Abstract

Despite their fundamental role in defining cells, lipids and the contributions of specific lipid classes in bacterial physiology and pathogenesis have not been highlighted well. Enterococcus faecalis , a commensal bacterial and major hospital-acquired bacterium, synthesizes only a few known phospholipids. One of these variants, lysyl-phosphatidylglycerol, is critical for surviving cationic antimicrobial peptides, but its consequence on overall membrane composition and cellular properties has not been thoroughly examined.