Using the latest microscopy to rethink the model of bacterial growth and division
The cell wall is a structure surrounding bacteria and is essential for structural support, it is often a target for antibiotic treatment for this very reason.
The ‘building blocks’ of this cell wall is peptidoglycan, this is a long chain formed of sugars and amino acids that provides a structural role.
To create this incredibly important structure the cell has to coordinate the process. In S. aureus synthesis of this begins at the middle of the cell and is guided by dynamic cell wall synthesis machines.
An interesting finding of this paper is that not all peptidoglycan insertion occurs at the leading edge of the septum in this species, causing researchers to rethink the model in which they look at S. aureus cell division.
The cell wall is a structure surrounding bacteria and is essential for structural support, it is often a target for antibiotic treatment for this very reason.
The ‘building blocks’ of this cell wall is peptidoglycan, this is a long chain formed of sugars and amino acids that provides a structural role.
To create this incredibly important structure the cell has to coordinate the process. In S. aureus synthesis of this begins at the middle of the cell and is guided by dynamic cell wall synthesis machines.
An interesting finding of this paper is that not all peptidoglycan insertion occurs at the leading edge of the septum in this species, causing researchers to rethink the model in which they look at S. aureus cell division.
To read the full article and find out more about how the techniques which generated these images, follow this link
Follow the official hashtag on twitter at #BSW18
