1887

Abstract

The genome contains 11 serine/threonine kinase genes, and the products of two of these, PknA and PknB, are key components of a signal transduction pathway that regulates cell division and/or morphology. Previously, we have shown that one substrate of these kinases is Wag31, a homologue of the cell division protein DivIVA that is present, but not known to be phosphorylated, in other Gram-positive bacteria. Here, we investigate the localization and function of Wag31 and its phosphorylation. We demonstrate that Wag31 is localized to the cell poles. We further show that is an essential gene and that depletion of its product causes a dramatic morphological change in which one end of the cell becomes round rather than rod-shaped. This abnormal morphology appears to be caused by a defect in polar peptidoglycan synthesis. Finally, expression of in the conditional mutant of altered the growth rate in a manner that depended on the phospho-acceptor residue encoded by the allele being expressed. Taken together, these results indicate that Wag31 regulates cell shape and cell wall synthesis in through a molecular mechanism by which the activity of Wag31 can be modulated in response to environmental signals.

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2008-03-01
2024-03-28
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