Cell wall's mesoscale organization in Deinococcus radiodurans

Farci, D.; Haniewicz, P.; Piano, D.

doi:10.1101/2022.01.29.478271

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.01.29.478271

Cell wall's mesoscale organization in Deinococcus radiodurans

Farci, D.·Haniewicz, P.·Piano, D.

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Abstract

S-layers are highly ordered coats of proteins localized on the cell surface of many bacterial species. In these structures, one or more proteins form elementary units that self-assemble into a crystalline monolayer tiling the entire cell surface. Here, the cell envelope of the radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans was studied by high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy finding the crystalline regularity of the S-layer extended into the layers below. The cell envelope appears to be highly packed and resulting from a three-dimensional crystalline distribution of protein complexes organized in close continuity but allowing different degrees of voidness in the entire thickness. These insights grade S-layers to mesoscale hubs behaving as structural and functional architraves essential for the entire cell body.

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Farci, D., Haniewicz, P., Piano, D.. 2022-01-31. Cell wall's mesoscale organization in Deinococcus radiodurans. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.29.478271

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