Skip to main content
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1997 Sep;179(17):5632–5635. doi: 10.1128/jb.179.17.5632-5635.1997

Identification and characterization of cell wall-cell division gene clusters in pathogenic gram-positive cocci.

M J Pucci 1, J A Thanassi 1, L F Discotto 1, R E Kessler 1, T J Dougherty 1
PMCID: PMC179445  PMID: 9287029

Abstract

Clusters of peptidoglycan biosynthesis and cell division genes (DCW genes) were identified and sequenced in two gram-positive cocci, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis. The results indicated some similarities in organization compared with previously reported bacterial DCW gene clusters, including the presence of penicillin-binding proteins at the left ends and ftsA and ftsZ cell division genes at the right ends of the clusters. However, there were also some important differences, including the absence of several genes, the comparative sizes of the div1B and ftsQ genes, and a wide range of amino acid sequence similarities when the genes of the gram-positive cocci were translated and compared to bacterial homologs.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (138.1 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Brown E. D., Marquardt J. L., Lee J. P., Walsh C. T., Anderson K. S. Detection and characterization of a phospholactoyl-enzyme adduct in the reaction catalyzed by UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvoyl transferase, MurZ. Biochemistry. 1994 Sep 6;33(35):10638–10645. doi: 10.1021/bi00201a010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bugg T. D., Walsh C. T. Intracellular steps of bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan biosynthesis: enzymology, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance. Nat Prod Rep. 1992 Jun;9(3):199–215. doi: 10.1039/np9920900199. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dai K., Lutkenhaus J. The proper ratio of FtsZ to FtsA is required for cell division to occur in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1992 Oct;174(19):6145–6151. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.19.6145-6151.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dai K., Lutkenhaus J. ftsZ is an essential cell division gene in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1991 Jun;173(11):3500–3506. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.11.3500-3506.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Daniel R. A., Errington J. DNA sequence of the murE-murD region of Bacillus subtilis 168. J Gen Microbiol. 1993 Feb;139(2):361–370. doi: 10.1099/00221287-139-2-361. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Daniel R. A., Williams A. M., Errington J. A complex four-gene operon containing essential cell division gene pbpB in Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 1996 Apr;178(8):2343–2350. doi: 10.1128/jb.178.8.2343-2350.1996. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dewar S. J., Begg K. J., Donachie W. D. Inhibition of cell division initiation by an imbalance in the ratio of FtsA to FtsZ. J Bacteriol. 1992 Oct;174(19):6314–6316. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.19.6314-6316.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Donachie W. D. The cell cycle of Escherichia coli. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1993;47:199–230. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.47.100193.001215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Doublet P., van Heijenoort J., Mengin-Lecreulx D. Identification of the Escherichia coli murI gene, which is required for the biosynthesis of D-glutamic acid, a specific component of bacterial peptidoglycan. J Bacteriol. 1992 Sep;174(18):5772–5779. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.18.5772-5779.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Dougherty T. J., Thanassi J. A., Pucci M. J. The Escherichia coli mutant requiring D-glutamic acid is the result of mutations in two distinct genetic loci. J Bacteriol. 1993 Jan;175(1):111–116. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.1.111-116.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Fleischmann R. D., Adams M. D., White O., Clayton R. A., Kirkness E. F., Kerlavage A. R., Bult C. J., Tomb J. F., Dougherty B. A., Merrick J. M. Whole-genome random sequencing and assembly of Haemophilus influenzae Rd. Science. 1995 Jul 28;269(5223):496–512. doi: 10.1126/science.7542800. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ghuysen J. M. Molecular structures of penicillin-binding proteins and beta-lactamases. Trends Microbiol. 1994 Oct;2(10):372–380. doi: 10.1016/0966-842x(94)90614-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Harry E. J., Partridge S. R., Weiss A. S., Wake R. G. Conservation of the 168 divIB gene in Bacillus subtilis W23 and B. licheniformis, and evidence for homology to ftsQ of Escherichia coli. Gene. 1994 Sep 15;147(1):85–89. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(94)90043-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kyte J., Doolittle R. F. A simple method for displaying the hydropathic character of a protein. J Mol Biol. 1982 May 5;157(1):105–132. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(82)90515-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lutkenhaus J. Regulation of cell division in E. coli. Trends Genet. 1990 Jan;6(1):22–25. doi: 10.1016/0168-9525(90)90045-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Miyao A., Yoshimura A., Sato T., Yamamoto T., Theeragool G., Kobayashi Y. Sequence of the Bacillus subtilis homolog of the Escherichia coli cell-division gene murG. Gene. 1992 Sep 1;118(1):147–148. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(92)90264-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Pearson W. R., Lipman D. J. Improved tools for biological sequence comparison. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Apr;85(8):2444–2448. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.8.2444. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Pucci M. J., Discotto L. F., Dougherty T. J. Cloning and identification of the Escherichia coli murB DNA sequence, which encodes UDP-N-acetylenolpyruvoylglucosamine reductase. J Bacteriol. 1992 Mar;174(5):1690–1693. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.5.1690-1693.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Ray C., Hay R. E., Carter H. L., Moran C. P., Jr Mutations that affect utilization of a promoter in stationary-phase Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 1985 Aug;163(2):610–614. doi: 10.1128/jb.163.2.610-614.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Rowland S. L., Errington J., Wake R. G. The Bacillus subtilis cell-division 135-137 degrees region contains an essential orf with significant similarity to murB and a dispensable sbp gene. Gene. 1995 Oct 16;164(1):113–116. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(95)00467-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Spratt B. G. Properties of the penicillin-binding proteins of Escherichia coli K12,. Eur J Biochem. 1977 Jan;72(2):341–352. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1977.tb11258.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Vicente M., Errington J. Structure, function and controls in microbial division. Mol Microbiol. 1996 Apr;20(1):1–7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1996.tb02482.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Williamson R., Calderwood S. B., Moellering R. C., Jr, Tomasz A. Studies on the mechanism of intrinsic resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics in group D streptococci. J Gen Microbiol. 1983 Mar;129(3):813–822. doi: 10.1099/00221287-129-3-813. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Yura T., Mori H., Nagai H., Nagata T., Ishihama A., Fujita N., Isono K., Mizobuchi K., Nakata A. Systematic sequencing of the Escherichia coli genome: analysis of the 0-2.4 min region. Nucleic Acids Res. 1992 Jul 11;20(13):3305–3308. doi: 10.1093/nar/20.13.3305. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES