Lipid Phases and Cell Geometry During the Cell Cycle of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Bacterial lipid biophysics and membrane organization

The formation of lateral microdomains is emerging as a central organizing principle in bacterial membranes. These microdomains are targets of antibiotic development and have the potential to enhance natural product synthesis, but the rules governing their assembly are unclear. Previous studies have suggested that microdomain formation is promoted by lipid phase separation, particularly by cardiolipin (CL) and isoprenoid lipids, and there is strong evidence that CL biosynthesis is required for recruitment of membrane proteins to cell poles and division sites. New work demonstrates that additional bacterial lipids may mediate membrane protein localization and function, opening the field for mechanistic evaluation of lipid-driven membrane organization in vivo.

A Monte Carlo study of giant vesicle morphologies in nonequilibrium environments

It is known that giant vesicles undergo dynamic morphological changes when exposed to a detergent. The solubilization process may take multiple pathways. In this work, we identify lipid vesicle shape dynamics before the solubilization of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine giant vesicles with Triton X-100 (TR) detergent. The violent lipid vesicle dynamics was observed with laser confocal scanning microscopy and was qualitatively explained via a numerical simulation. A three-dimensional Monte Carlo scheme was constructed that emulated the nonequilibrium conditions at the beginning stages of solubilization, accounting for a gradual addition of TR detergent molecules into the lipid bilayers. We suggest that the main driving factor for morphology change in lipid vesicles is the associative tendency of the TR molecules, which induces spontaneous curvature of the detergent inclusions, an intrinsic consequence of their molecular shape. The majority of the observed lipid vesicle shapes in the experiments were found to correspond very well to the numerically calculated shapes in the phase space of possible solutions. The results give an insight into the early stages of lipid vesicle solubilization by amphiphilic molecules, which is nonequilibrium in nature and very difficult to study.

The Pneumococcal Divisome: Dynamic Control of Streptococcus pneumoniae Cell Division

Cell division in Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is performed and regulated by a protein complex consisting of at least 14 different protein elements; known as the divisome. Recent findings have advanced our understanding of the molecular events surrounding this process and have provided new understanding of the mechanisms that occur during the division of pneumococcus. This review will provide an overview of the key protein complexes and how they are involved in cell division. We will discuss the interaction of proteins in the divisome complex that underpin the control mechanisms for cell division and cell wall synthesis and remodelling that are required in S. pneumoniae, including the involvement of virulence factors and capsular polysaccharides.

Cell Cycle Dependent Modulation of Membrane Dipole Potential and Neurotransmitter Receptor Activity: Role of Membrane Cholesterol

The cell cycle is a sequential multistep process essential for growth and proliferation of cells that make up multicellular organisms. A number of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins are known to modulate the cell cycle. Yet, the role of lipids, membrane organization, and physical properties in cell cycle progression remains largely elusive. Membrane dipole potential is an important physicochemical property and originates due to the electrostatic potential difference within the membrane because of nonrandom arrangement of amphiphile dipoles and water molecules at the membrane interface. In this work, we explored the modulation of membrane dipole potential in various stages of the cell cycle in CHO-K1 cells. Our results show that membrane dipole potential is highest in the G1 phase relative to S and G2/M phases. This was accompanied by regulation of membrane cholesterol content in the cell cycle. The highest cholesterol content was found in the G1 phase with a considerable reduction in cholesterol in S and G2/M phases. Interestingly, we noted a similarity in the dependence of membrane dipole potential and cholesterol with progress of the cell cycle. In addition, we observed an increase in neutral lipid (which contains esterified cholesterol) content as cells progressed from the G1 to G2/M phase via the S phase of the cell cycle. Importantly, we further observed a cell cycle dependent reduction in ligand binding activity of serotonin_1A receptors expressed in CHO-K1 cells. To the best of our knowledge, these results constitute the first report of cell cycle dependent modulation of membrane dipole potential and activity of a neurotransmitter receptor belonging to the G protein-coupled receptor family. We envision that understanding the basis of cell cycle events from a biophysical perspective would result in a deeper appreciation of the cell cycle and its regulation in relation to cellular function.

Flotillin-mediated membrane fluidity controls peptidoglycan synthesis and MreB movement

The bacterial plasma membrane is an important cellular compartment. In recent years it has become obvious that protein complexes and lipids are not uniformly distributed within membranes. Current hypotheses suggest that flotillin proteins are required for the formation of complexes of membrane proteins including cell-wall synthetic proteins. We show here that bacterial flotillins are important factors for membrane fluidity homeostasis. Loss of flotillins leads to a decrease in membrane fluidity that in turn leads to alterations in MreB dynamics and, as a consequence, in peptidoglycan synthesis. These alterations are reverted when membrane fluidity is restored by a chemical fluidizer. In vitro, the addition of a flotillin increases membrane fluidity of liposomes. Our data support a model in which flotillins are required for direct control of membrane fluidity rather than for the formation of protein complexes via direct protein-protein interactions.

Structural features of the interaction of MapZ with FtsZ and membranes in Streptococcus pneumoniae

MapZ localizes at midcell and acts as a molecular beacon for the positioning of the cell division machinery in the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. MapZ contains a single transmembrane helix that separates the C-terminal extracellular domain from the N-terminal cytoplasmic domain. Only the structure and function of the extracellular domain is known. Here, we demonstrate that large parts of the cytoplasmic domain is intrinsically disordered and that there are two regions (from residues 45 to 68 and 79 to 95) with a tendency to fold into amphipathic helices. We further reveal that these regions interact with the surface of liposomes that mimic the Streptococcus pneumoniae cell membrane. The highly conserved and unfolded N-terminal region (from residues 17 to 43) specifically interacts with FtsZ independently of FtsZ polymerization state. Moreover, we show that MapZ phosphorylation at positions Thr67 and Thr68 does not impact the interaction with FtsZ or liposomes. Altogether, we propose a model in which the MapZ-mediated recruitment of FtsZ to mid-cell is modulated through competition of MapZ binding to the cell membrane. The molecular interplay between the components of this tripartite complex could represent a key step toward the complete assembly of the divisome.