Don’t let sleeping dogmas lie: new views of peptidoglycan synthesis and its regulation : New views on peptdigoglycan synthesis

Abstract

<p id="P1">Bacterial cell wall synthesis is the target for some of our most powerful antibiotics and has thus been the subject of intense research focus for more than 50 years. Surprisingly, we still lack a fundamental understanding of how bacteria build, maintain and expand their cell wall. Due to technical limitations, directly testing hypotheses about the coordination and biochemistry of cell wall synthesis enzymes or architecture has been challenging, and interpretation of data has therefore often relied on circumstantial evidence and implicit assumptions. A number of recent papers have exploited new technologies, like single molecule tracking and real-time, high resolution temporal mapping of cell wall synthesis processes, to address fundamental questions of bacterial cell wall biogenesis. The results have challenged established dogmas and it is therefore timely to integrate new data and old observations into a new model of cell wall biogenesis in rod-shaped bacteria. </p><p id="P2">The cell wall is an essential component of most bacterial cells, and has been a major focus of research for the last 50 years. Despite this intense research, we still have an incomplete understanding of how bacteria construct their cell wall. In this MicroReview, we will summarize important new data generated in the last few years, reexamine some established ideas in the field, and propose a new model of cell wall biogenesis in rod-shaped bacteria. </p>