Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical Schoolgrid.471403.5, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
J Bacteriol. 2022 Feb 15;204(2):e0053321. doi: 10.1128/JB.00533-21. Epub 2021 Dec 6.
The WalR-WalK two component signaling system in Bacillus subtilis functions in the homeostatic control of the peptidoglycan (PG) hydrolases LytE and CwlO that are required for cell growth. When the activities of these enzymes are low, WalR activates transcription of and and represses transcription of , a secreted inhibitor of LytE. Conversely, when PG hydrolase activity is too high, WalR-dependent expression of and is reduced and is derepressed. In a screen for additional factors that regulate this signaling pathway, we discovered that overexpression of the membrane-anchored PG deacetylase PdaC increases WalR-dependent gene expression. We show that increased expression of PdaC, but not catalytic mutants, prevents cell wall cleavage by both LytE and CwlO, explaining the WalR activation. Importantly, the gene, like , is repressed by active WalR. We propose that derepression of when PG hydrolase activity is too high results in modification of the membrane-proximal layers of the PG, protecting the wall from excessive cleavage by the membrane-tethered CwlO. Thus, the WalR-WalK system homeostatically controls the levels and activities of both elongation-specific cell wall hydrolases. Bacterial growth and division requires a delicate balance between the synthesis and remodeling of the cell wall exoskeleton. How bacteria regulate the potentially autolytic enzymes that remodel the cell wall peptidoglycan remains incompletely understood. Here, we provide evidence that the broadly conserved WalR-WalK two-component signaling system homeostatically controls both the levels and activities of two cell wall hydrolases that are critical for cell growth.
枯草芽孢杆菌中的 WalR-WalK 双组分信号系统在肽聚糖 (PG) 水解酶 LytE 和 CwlO 的动态平衡控制中起作用,这两种酶对于细胞生长是必需的。当这些酶的活性较低时,WalR 激活 和 的转录,并抑制 LytE 的分泌抑制剂 的转录。相反,当 PG 水解酶活性过高时,WalR 依赖性的 和 的表达减少, 被解除抑制。在筛选调控该信号通路的其他因子的过程中,我们发现膜锚定 PG 脱乙酰酶 PdaC 的过表达增加了 WalR 依赖性基因表达。我们表明,PdaC 的表达增加(而非催化突变体)可防止 LytE 和 CwlO 对细胞壁的切割,从而解释了 WalR 的激活。重要的是, 基因与 一样,被活性 WalR 抑制。我们提出,当 PG 水解酶活性过高时, 基因的去抑制导致 PG 膜近端层的修饰,从而防止膜结合的 CwlO 对细胞壁进行过度切割。因此,WalR-WalK 系统对伸长特异性细胞壁水解酶的水平和活性进行动态控制。细菌的生长和分裂需要细胞外骨骼的合成和重塑之间的精细平衡。细菌如何调节重塑细胞壁肽聚糖的潜在自溶酶仍然不完全清楚。在这里,我们提供的证据表明,广泛保守的 WalR-WalK 双组分信号系统对两种细胞壁水解酶的水平和活性进行动态控制,这两种酶对于细胞生长是至关重要的。