Bacteria surround their cell membrane with a net-like peptidoglycan layer, called sacculus,
to protect the cell from bursting and maintain its cell shape. Sacculus growth during …

Most bacteria are surrounded by a peptidoglycan cell wall that defines their shape and
protects them from osmotic lysis. The expansion and division of this structure therefore plays …

The ability to split one cell into two is fundamental to all life, and many bacteria can
accomplish this feat several times per hour with high accuracy. Most bacteria call on an …

The past decade has revealed the diversity and ubiquity of archaea in nature, with a growing
number of studies highlighting their importance in ecology, biotechnology and even human …

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the intracellular pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis,
remains one of the leading causes of mortality across the world. There is an urgent …

The bacterial division apparatus catalyses the synthesis and remodelling of septal
peptidoglycan (sPG) to build the cell wall layer that fortifies the daughter cell poles …

When it comes to the discovery and analysis of yet uncharted bacterial traits, pure cultures
are essential as only these allow detailed morphological and physiological characterization …

Genomically minimal cells, such as JCVI-syn3. 0, offer a platform to clarify genes underlying
core physiological processes. Although this minimal cell includes genes essential for …

The importance of the cell wall to the viability of the bacterium is underscored by the breadth
of antibiotic structures that act by blocking key enzymes that are tasked with cell-wall …

Peptidoglycan is a defining feature of the bacterial cell wall. Initially identified as a target of
the revolutionary beta-lactam antibiotics, peptidoglycan has become a subject of much …