Salamaga, B., Prajsnar, T.K., Jareño-Martinez, A. et al. (8 more authors) (2017) Bacterial size matters: multiple mechanisms controlling septum cleavage and diplococcus formation are critical for the virulence of the opportunistic pathogen Enterococcus faecalis. PLoS Pathogens, 13 (7). e1006526. ISSN 1553-7366
Abstract
Enterococcus faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen frequently isolated in clinical settings. This organism is intrinsically resistant to several clinically relevant antibiotics and can transfer resistance to other pathogens. Although E. faecalis has emerged as a major nosocomial pathogen, the mechanisms underlying the virulence of this organism remain elusive. We studied the regulation of daughter cell separation during growth and explored the impact of this process on pathogenesis. We demonstrate that the activity of the AtlA peptidoglycan hydrolase, an enzyme dedicated to septum cleavage, is controlled by several mechanisms, including glycosylation and recognition of the peptidoglycan substrate. We show that the long cell chains of E. faecalis mutants are more susceptible to phagocytosis and are no longer able to cause lethality in the zebrafish model of infection. Altogether, this work indicates that control of cell separation during division underpins the pathogenesis of E. faecalis infections and represents a novel enterococcal virulence factor. We propose that inhibition of septum cleavage during division represents an attractive therapeutic strategy to control infections.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Salamaga et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL MR/M004864/1 BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL (BBSRC) BB/N000951/1 MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL MR/N02995X/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 27 Jul 2017 15:36 |
Last Modified: | 03 Nov 2023 16:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006526 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:119564 |