D-Amino Acids Govern Stationary Phase Cell Wall Remodeling in Bacteria Export

@article{citeulike:5801277, abstract = {In all known organisms, amino acids are predominantly thought to be synthesized and used as their L-enantiomers. Here, we found that bacteria produce diverse D-amino acids as well, which accumulate at millimolar concentrations in supernatants of stationary phase cultures. In Vibrio cholerae, a dedicated racemase produced D-Met and D-Leu, whereas Bacillus subtilis generated D-Tyr and D-Phe. These unusual D-amino acids appear to modulate synthesis of peptidoglycan, a strong and elastic polymer that serves as the stress-bearing component of the bacterial cell wall. D-Amino acids influenced peptidoglycan composition, amount, and strength, both by means of their incorporation into the polymer and by regulating enzymes that synthesize and modify it. Thus, synthesis of D-amino acids may be a common strategy for bacteria to adapt to changing environmental conditions. 10.1126/science.1178123}, author = {Lam, Hubert and Oh, Dong-Chan and Cava, Felipe and Takacs, Constantin N. and Clardy, Jon and de Pedro, Miguel A. and Waldor, Matthew K.}, citeulike-article-id = {5801277}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1178123}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.sciencemag.org/content/sci;325/5947/1552.abstract}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www.sciencemag.org/content/sci;325/5947/1552.full.pdf}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/325/5947/1552}, citeulike-linkout-4 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19762646}, citeulike-linkout-5 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=19762646}, day = {18}, doi = {10.1126/science.1178123}, journal = {Science}, keywords = {bacterial\_cell\_wall, d-aminoacids, peptidoglycan, statinary\_phase}, month = {September}, number = {5947}, pages = {1552--1555}, posted-at = {2009-10-02 02:43:34}, priority = {3}, title = {D-Amino Acids Govern Stationary Phase Cell Wall Remodeling in Bacteria}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1178123}, volume = {325}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:5801277 L3 - citeulike-article-id:5801277 N2 - In all known organisms, amino acids are predominantly thought to be synthesized and used as their L-enantiomers. Here, we found that bacteria produce diverse D-amino acids as well, which accumulate at millimolar concentrations in supernatants of stationary phase cultures. In Vibrio cholerae, a dedicated racemase produced D-Met and D-Leu, whereas Bacillus subtilis generated D-Tyr and D-Phe. These unusual D-amino acids appear to modulate synthesis of peptidoglycan, a strong and elastic polymer that serves as the stress-bearing component of the bacterial cell wall. D-Amino acids influenced peptidoglycan composition, amount, and strength, both by means of their incorporation into the polymer and by regulating enzymes that synthesize and modify it. Thus, synthesis of D-amino acids may be a common strategy for bacteria to adapt to changing environmental conditions. 10.1126/science.1178123 IS - 5947 JF - Science EP - 1555 TI - D-Amino Acids Govern Stationary Phase Cell Wall Remodeling in Bacteria VL - 325 SP - 1552 KW - bacterial_cell_wall KW - d-aminoacids KW - peptidoglycan KW - statinary_phase AU - Lam, Hubert AU - Oh, Dong-Chan AU - Cava, Felipe AU - Takacs, Constantin AU - Clardy, Jon AU - de Pedro, Miguel AU - Waldor, Matthew PY - 2009/09/18/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1178123 ER -