Introduction

1.1.Bacterial Cell

Fig. (1): Structure of bacterial cell

1.2. Bacterial cell wall
The cell wall is the principal stress-bearing and shape-maintaining element in
bacteria, and its integrity is of critical importance to cell viability. In both grampositive and gram-negative bacteria, the scaffold of the cell wall consists of the
cross-linked polymer peptidoglycan (PG). Many studies have addressed the
relationship between PG synthesis and bacterial growth and cell shape by looking
at changes in cell shape in mutants that lack one or several enzymes involved in
the synthesis of PG or other cell wall components or by looking at the
incorporation of labeled PG precursors into the cell wall. Recent developments
have prompted a renewed effort to understand cell wall growth and shape
determination. First, the application of fluorescence microscopy to bacteria has
made it possible to study the localization of enzymes involved in PG synthesis in
growing cells, as well as to look at localization of newly incorporated PG in live
cells. Second, the discovery of an actin-like cytoskeleton involved in bacterial cell
shape determination has raised the question of how structural information from
inside the cell is translated to the cell wall. In this review, we discuss the recent
data on localization of PG-synthesizing enzymes in the light of what is known
about PG synthesis from previous studies, and we discuss the role of bacterial
cytoskeletal proteins in organizing the cell wall synthesis process.
Bacterial cells lack a membrane bound nucleus. Their genetic material is naked
within the cytoplasm. Ribosomes are their only type of organelle. The term
"nucleoid" refers to the region of the cytoplasm where chromosomal DNA is
located, usually a singular, circular chromosome. Bacteria are usually single-

celled, except when they exist in colonies. These ancestral cells reproduce by
means of binary fission, duplicating their genetic material and then essentially
splitting to form two daughter cells identical to the parent. A wall located outside
the cell membrane provides the cell support, and protection against mechanical
stress or damage from osmotic rupture and lysis . The major component of the
bacterial cell wall is peptidoglycan or murein. This rigid structure of
peptidoglycan, specific only to prokaryotes, gives the cell shape and surrounds
the cytoplasmic membrane. Peptidoglycan is a huge polymer of disaccharides
(glycan) cross-linked by short chains of identical amino acids (peptides)
monomers. The backbone of the peptidoglycan molecule is composed of two
derivatives of glucose: N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-acetlymuramic acid
(NAM) with a pentapeptide coming off NAM and varying slightly among bacteria.
The NAG and NAM strands are synthesized in the cytosol of the bacteria. They
are connected by inter-peptide bridges. They are transported across the
cytoplasmic membrane by a carrier molecule called bactoprenol. From the
peptidoglycan inwards all bacterial cells are very similar. Going further out, the
bacterial world divides into two major classes: Gram positive (Gram +) and Gram
negative (Gram -). The cell wall provides important ligands for adherence
and receptor sites for viruses or antibiotics.

Fig. (2): The cell wall of bacteria

As briefly noted before, fundamental differences in ultrastructure of the cell wall
are responsible for the reaction (+ or -) of bacteria towards the Gram stain. In
both types of cell, the cytoplasmic membrane is surrounded and supported by a
cell wall, which provides strength, rigidity and shape. Schematic cross sections of
these structures are given below

Fig. (3): Ultrastructure of the cell wall

Gram-positive
Relatively thick and featureless (electron microscope)
Major component (~50%) is peptidoglycan
No lipid and often no protein
Accessory polymers (teichoic acid and/or teichuronic acid) covalently
linked to peptidoglycan
Gram-negative
The cell envelope consists of a pair of membranes (cytoplasmic and outer)
with a thin, intermediate layer of peptidoglycan
The outer membrane contains lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as well as lipids
and proteins. LPS is located exclusively in the outer leaflet: lipid embedded
in the membrane, polysaccharide protruding. This makes the bacteria
appear rather fuzzy under an electron microscope.

3. Enzymes Involved
ENZYMES INVOLVED IN THE LAST STAGES OF PEPTIDOGLYCAN
SYNTHESIS
Detection of the involved enzymes