(p)ppGpp Buffers Cell Division When Membrane Fluidity Decreases in Escherichia coli
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Molecular Microbiology
Abstract
Fluidity is an inherent property of biological membranes and its maintenance (homeoviscous adaptation) is important for optimal functioning of membrane-associated processes. The fluidity of bacterial cytoplasmic membrane increases with temperature or an increase in the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids and vice versa. We found that strains deficient in the synthesis of guanine nucleotide analogs (p)ppGpp and lacking FadR, a transcription factor involved in fatty acid metabolism exhibited a growth defect that was rescued by an increase in growth temperature or unsaturated fatty acid content. The strain lacking (p)ppGpp was sensitive to genetic or chemical perturbations that decrease the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids over saturated fatty acids. Microscopy showed that the growth defect was associated with cell filamentation and lysis and rescued by combined expression of cell division genes ftsQ, ftsA, and ftsZ from plasmid or the gain-of-function ftsA* allele but not over-expression of ftsN. The results implicate (p)ppGpp in positive regulation of cell division during membrane fluidity loss through enhancement of FtsZ proto-ring stability. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a (p)ppGpp-mediated regulation needed for adaptation to membrane fluidity loss in bacteria.
First Page
847
Last Page
865
DOI
10.1111/mmi.15323
Publication Date
12-1-2024
Recommended Citation
Singh, Vani and Harinarayanan, Rajendran, "(p)ppGpp Buffers Cell Division When Membrane Fluidity Decreases in Escherichia coli" (2024). Open Access archive. 9692.
https://impressions.manipal.edu/open-access-archive/9692
