Teichoic acids in the periplasm and cell envelope of Streptococcus pneumoniae
Teichoic acids (TA) are linear phospho-saccharidic polymers and important constituents of the cell envelope of Gram-positive bacteria, either bound to the peptidoglycan as wall teichoic acids (WTA) or to the membrane as lipoteichoic acids (LTA). The composition of TA varies greatly but the presence...
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2025-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/105132 |
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| author | Mai Nguyen Elda Bauda Célia Boyat Cédric Laguri Céline Freton Anne Chouquet Benoit Gallet Morgane Baudoin Yung-Sing Wong Christophe Grangeasse Christine Moriscot Claire Durmort André Zapun Cecile Morlot |
| author_facet | Mai Nguyen Elda Bauda Célia Boyat Cédric Laguri Céline Freton Anne Chouquet Benoit Gallet Morgane Baudoin Yung-Sing Wong Christophe Grangeasse Christine Moriscot Claire Durmort André Zapun Cecile Morlot |
| author_sort | Mai Nguyen |
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| description | Teichoic acids (TA) are linear phospho-saccharidic polymers and important constituents of the cell envelope of Gram-positive bacteria, either bound to the peptidoglycan as wall teichoic acids (WTA) or to the membrane as lipoteichoic acids (LTA). The composition of TA varies greatly but the presence of both WTA and LTA is highly conserved, hinting at an underlying fundamental function that is distinct from their specific roles in diverse organisms. We report the observation of a periplasmic space in Streptococcus pneumoniae by cryo-electron microscopy of vitreous sections. The thickness and appearance of this region change upon deletion of genes involved in the attachment of TA, supporting their role in the maintenance of a periplasmic space in Gram-positive bacteria as a possible universal function. Consequences of these mutations were further examined by super-resolved microscopy, following metabolic labeling and fluorophore coupling by click chemistry. This novel labeling method also enabled in-gel analysis of cell fractions. With this approach, we were able to titrate the actual amount of TA per cell and to determine the ratio of WTA to LTA. In addition, we followed the change of TA length during growth phases, and discovered that a mutant devoid of LTA accumulates the membrane-bound polymerized TA precursor. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-adb4cb41ac9b40acb9984b4cc53d95ce |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
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| spelling | doaj-art-adb4cb41ac9b40acb9984b4cc53d95ce2025-08-20T02:24:58ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-04-011410.7554/eLife.105132Teichoic acids in the periplasm and cell envelope of Streptococcus pneumoniaeMai Nguyen0Elda Bauda1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3848-6141Célia Boyat2Cédric Laguri3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5429-6914Céline Freton4Anne Chouquet5Benoit Gallet6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8758-7681Morgane Baudoin7Yung-Sing Wong8Christophe Grangeasse9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5484-4589Christine Moriscot10Claire Durmort11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5362-5061André Zapun12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8953-4399Cecile Morlot13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9295-1035Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, DPM, Grenoble, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, DPM, Grenoble, FranceMolecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, Université de Lyon, CNRS, Lyon, FranceMolecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, Université de Lyon, CNRS, Lyon, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, FranceUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, FranceTeichoic acids (TA) are linear phospho-saccharidic polymers and important constituents of the cell envelope of Gram-positive bacteria, either bound to the peptidoglycan as wall teichoic acids (WTA) or to the membrane as lipoteichoic acids (LTA). The composition of TA varies greatly but the presence of both WTA and LTA is highly conserved, hinting at an underlying fundamental function that is distinct from their specific roles in diverse organisms. We report the observation of a periplasmic space in Streptococcus pneumoniae by cryo-electron microscopy of vitreous sections. The thickness and appearance of this region change upon deletion of genes involved in the attachment of TA, supporting their role in the maintenance of a periplasmic space in Gram-positive bacteria as a possible universal function. Consequences of these mutations were further examined by super-resolved microscopy, following metabolic labeling and fluorophore coupling by click chemistry. This novel labeling method also enabled in-gel analysis of cell fractions. With this approach, we were able to titrate the actual amount of TA per cell and to determine the ratio of WTA to LTA. In addition, we followed the change of TA length during growth phases, and discovered that a mutant devoid of LTA accumulates the membrane-bound polymerized TA precursor.https://elifesciences.org/articles/105132Streptococcus pneumoniaebacterial cell wallperiplasmteichoic acid |
| spellingShingle | Mai Nguyen Elda Bauda Célia Boyat Cédric Laguri Céline Freton Anne Chouquet Benoit Gallet Morgane Baudoin Yung-Sing Wong Christophe Grangeasse Christine Moriscot Claire Durmort André Zapun Cecile Morlot Teichoic acids in the periplasm and cell envelope of Streptococcus pneumoniae eLife Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterial cell wall periplasm teichoic acid |
| title | Teichoic acids in the periplasm and cell envelope of Streptococcus pneumoniae |
| title_full | Teichoic acids in the periplasm and cell envelope of Streptococcus pneumoniae |
| title_fullStr | Teichoic acids in the periplasm and cell envelope of Streptococcus pneumoniae |
| title_full_unstemmed | Teichoic acids in the periplasm and cell envelope of Streptococcus pneumoniae |
| title_short | Teichoic acids in the periplasm and cell envelope of Streptococcus pneumoniae |
| title_sort | teichoic acids in the periplasm and cell envelope of streptococcus pneumoniae |
| topic | Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterial cell wall periplasm teichoic acid |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/105132 |
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