Microbiology
How the assembly and protection of the bacterial cell envelope depend on cysteine residues
The cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria is a multilayered structure essential for bacterial viability; the peptidoglycan cell wall provides shape and osmotic protection to the cell, and the outer membrane serves as a permeability barrier against noxious compounds in the external environment. Assembling the envelope properly and maintaining its integrity are matters of life and death for bacteria. Our understanding of the mechanisms of envelope assembly and maintenance has increased tremendously over the past two decades.Evolutionary Adaptation of the Essential tRNA Methyltransferase TrmD to the Signaling Molecule 3′,5′-cAMP in Bacteria
The nucleotide signaling molecule 3′,5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (3′,5′-cAMP) plays important physiological roles, ranging from carbon catabolite repression in bacteria to mediating the action of hormones in higher eukaryotes, including human. However, it remains unclear whether 3′,5′-cAMP is universally present in the Firmicutes group of bacteria. We hypothesized that searching for proteins that bind 3′,5′-cAMP might provide new insight into this question. Accordingly, we performed a genome-wide screen and identified the essential Staphylococcus aureus tRNA m1G37 methyltransferase enzyme TrmD, which is conserved in all three domains of life as a tight 3′,5′-cAMP-binding protein.
