Genome Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Jacob Biboy
Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
A F Maarten Altelaar
Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Mirjam J Damen
Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Kerwyn Casey Huang
Biophysics Program, Stanford University, Stanford, United States; Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, United States; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, United States
Jean-Pierre Simorre
Institut de Biologie Structurale, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
Eefjan Breukink
Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Tanneke den Blaauwen
Bacterial Cell Biology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Athanasios Typas
Genome Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Carol A Gross
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; Department of Cell and Tissue Biology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; California Institute of Quantitative Biology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Waldemar Vollmer
Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
To maintain cellular structure and integrity during division, Gram-negative bacteria must carefully coordinate constriction of a tripartite cell envelope of inner membrane, peptidoglycan (PG), and outer membrane (OM). It has remained enigmatic how this is accomplished. Here, we show that envelope machines facilitating septal PG synthesis (PBP1B-LpoB complex) and OM constriction (Tol system) are physically and functionally coordinated via YbgF, renamed CpoB (Coordinator of PG synthesis and OM constriction, associated with PBP1B). CpoB localizes to the septum concurrent with PBP1B-LpoB and Tol at the onset of constriction, interacts with both complexes, and regulates PBP1B activity in response to Tol energy state. This coordination links PG synthesis with OM invagination and imparts a unique mode of bifunctional PG synthase regulation by selectively modulating PBP1B cross-linking activity. Coordination of the PBP1B and Tol machines by CpoB contributes to effective PBP1B function in vivo and maintenance of cell envelope integrity during division.
