The Staphylococcus aureus cell division protein, DivIC, interacts with the cell wall and controls its biosynthesis

• Published in: Communications biology Vol. 5; no. 1; p. 1228
• Main Authors: Tinajero-Trejo, Mariana, Carnell, Oliver, Kabli, Azhar F., Pasquina-Lemonche, Laia, Lafage, Lucia, Han, Aidong, Hobbs, Jamie K., Foster, Simon J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 11.11.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 14; 14/28; 14/3; 14/35; 14/63; 631/326/1320; 631/326/421; 82; 82/29; 82/80; Bacteria; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Cycle Proteins - metabolism; Cell Division; Cell Wall - metabolism; Cell walls; Life Sciences; Membrane Proteins - metabolism; Penicillin; Peptidoglycan; Peptidoglycans; Proteins; Septum; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - metabolism; Teichoic acids
• ISSN: 2399-3642; 2399-3642
• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04161-7

Bacterial cell division is a complex, dynamic process that requires multiple protein components to orchestrate its progression. Many division proteins are highly conserved across bacterial species alluding to a common, basic mechanism. Central to division is a transmembrane trimeric complex involving DivIB, DivIC and FtsL in Gram-positives. Here, we show a distinct, essential role for DivIC in division and survival of Staphylococcus aureus . DivIC spatially regulates peptidoglycan synthesis, and consequently cell wall architecture, by influencing the recruitment to the division septum of the major peptidoglycan synthetases PBP2 and FtsW. Both the function of DivIC and its recruitment to the division site depend on its extracellular domain, which interacts with the cell wall via binding to wall teichoic acids. DivIC facilitates the spatial and temporal coordination of peptidoglycan synthesis with the developing architecture of the septum during cell division. A better understanding of the cell division mechanisms in S. aureus and other pathogenic microorganisms can provide possibilities for the development of new, more effective treatments for bacterial infections. The conserved division protein DivIC in the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus controls cell division through the recruitment of major cell wall synthesis enzymes to the division site.