Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaidegrid.1010.0, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Centre for Immunology and Infection Control, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
J Bacteriol. 2022 Apr 19;204(4):e0054621. doi: 10.1128/jb.00546-21. Epub 2022 Mar 16.
Outer membrane (OM) polysaccharides allow bacteria to resist harsh environmental conditions and antimicrobial agents, traffic to and persist in pathogenic niches, and evade immune responses. Shigella flexneri has two OM polysaccharide populations, being enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O antigen (Oag); both are polymerized into chains by separate homologs of the Wzy-dependent pathway. The two polysaccharide pathways, along with peptidoglycan (PG) biosynthesis, compete for the universal biosynthetic membrane anchor, undecaprenyl phosphate (Und-P), as the finite pool of available Und-P is critical in all three cell wall biosynthetic pathways. Interactions between the two OM polysaccharide pathways have been proposed in the past where, through the use of mutants in both pathways, various perturbations have been observed. Here, we show for the first time that mutations in one of the two OM polysaccharide pathways can affect each other, dependent on where the mutation lies along the pathway, while the second pathway remains genetically intact. We then expand on this and show that the mutations also affect PG biosynthesis pathways and provide data which supports that the classical mutant phenotypes of cell wall mutants are due to a lack of available Und-P. Our work here provides another layer in understanding the complex intricacies of the cell wall biosynthetic pathways and demonstrates their interdependence on Und-P, the universal biosynthetic membrane anchor. Bacterial outer membrane polysaccharides play key roles in a range of bacterial activities from homeostasis to virulence. Two such OM polysaccharide populations are ECA and LPS Oag, which are synthesized by separate homologs of the Wzy-dependent pathway. Both ECA and LPS Oag biosynthesis join with PG biosynthesis to form the cell wall biosynthetic pathways, which all are interdependent on the availability of Und-P for proper function. Our data show the direct effects of cell wall pathway mutations affecting all related pathways when they themselves remain genetically unchanged. This work furthers our understanding of the complexities and interdependence of the three cell wall pathways.
细菌外膜(OM)多糖使细菌能够抵抗恶劣的环境条件和抗菌剂,在致病部位运输和持续存在,并逃避免疫反应。福氏志贺菌有两种 OM 多糖群,即肠细菌共同抗原(ECA)和脂多糖(LPS)O 抗原(Oag);两者均由 Wzy 依赖途径的不同同源物聚合成长链。这两种多糖途径与肽聚糖(PG)生物合成竞争通用生物合成膜锚,即十一异戊烯磷酸(Und-P),因为有限的可用 Und-P 池对所有三种细胞壁生物合成途径都至关重要。过去曾提出过两种 OM 多糖途径之间存在相互作用,通过使用两种途径中的突变体,观察到了各种干扰。在这里,我们首次表明,一种 OM 多糖途径中的突变可以相互影响,这取决于突变沿途径的位置,而第二种途径在遗传上保持完整。然后,我们对此进行了扩展,并表明突变也会影响 PG 生物合成途径,并提供数据支持细胞壁突变体的经典突变表型是由于缺乏可用的 Und-P。我们在这里的工作提供了理解细胞壁生物合成途径复杂结构的另一个层面,并表明它们依赖于通用生物合成膜锚 Und-P。 细菌外膜多糖在从体内平衡到毒力的一系列细菌活动中发挥着关键作用。两种这样的 OM 多糖群体是 ECA 和 LPS Oag,它们是由 Wzy 依赖途径的不同同源物合成的。ECA 和 LPS Oag 生物合成与 PG 生物合成一起形成细胞壁生物合成途径,所有这些途径都相互依赖于适当功能的 Und-P 的可用性。我们的数据表明,当自身在遗传上保持不变时,细胞壁途径突变直接影响所有相关途径。这项工作进一步加深了我们对三种细胞壁途径的复杂性和相互依赖性的理解。