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  • Nanoscale dynamics of pepti...
    Trouve, Jennyfer; Zapun, André; Arthaud, Christopher; Durmort, Claire; Di Guilmi, Anne Marie; Söderström, Bill; Pelletier, Anais; Grangeasse, Christophe; Bourgeois, Dominique; Wong, Yung-Sing; Morlot, Cecile

    Current biology, 07/2021, Letnik: 31, Številka: 13
    Journal Article

    Dynamics of cell elongation and septation are key determinants of bacterial morphogenesis. These processes are intimately linked to peptidoglycan synthesis performed by macromolecular complexes called the elongasome and the divisome. In rod-shaped bacteria, cell elongation and septation, which are dissociated in time and space, have been well described. By contrast, in ovoid-shaped bacteria, the dynamics and relationships between these processes remain poorly understood because they are concomitant and confined to a nanometer-scale annular region at midcell. Here, we set up a metabolic peptidoglycan labeling approach using click chemistry to image peptidoglycan synthesis by single-molecule localization microscopy in the ovoid bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. Our nanoscale-resolution data reveal spatiotemporal features of peptidoglycan assembly and fate along the cell cycle and provide geometrical parameters that we used to construct a morphogenesis model of the ovoid cell. These analyses show that septal and peripheral peptidoglycan syntheses first occur within a single annular region that later separates in two concentric regions and that elongation persists after septation is completed. In addition, our data reveal that freshly synthesized peptidoglycan is remodeled all along the cell cycle. Altogether, our work provides evidence that septal peptidoglycan is synthesized from the beginning of the cell cycle and is constantly remodeled through cleavage and insertion of material at its periphery. The ovoid-cell morphogenesis would thus rely on the relative dynamics between peptidoglycan synthesis and cleavage rather than on the existence of two distinct successive phases of peripheral and septal synthesis. •Metabolic labeling allows dSTORM analysis of pneumococcal peptidoglycan synthesis•Septal and peripheral peptidoglycan syntheses progress separately•Septal peptidoglycan is synthesized and remodeled from the start of the cell cycle•Peripheral synthesis persists after septal synthesis is completed Synthesis of the cell wall ensures proper bacterial shape and integrity. Trouve et al. use a combination of cell labeling, single-molecule localization microscopy, and modeling to provide the first nanoscale description of cell wall assembly in Streptococcus pneumoniae, bringing new insights for bacterial morphogenesis.