Revur, Sreelekha N.. Identification of a novel regulator of stalk synthesis in Caulobacter crescentus. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T38G8PWC
DescriptionProkaryotes exist in diverse morphologies in nature. The shape of the cell offers the cell the ability to adapt to the selective pressures of its environment. Bacterial shape is a function of its cell wall composition. Our current knowledge of bacterial cell wall synthesis is generally limited to rod shaped cells. To address the question of how special morphological features, aid different bacterial cells in survival, we use Caulobacter crescentus as a model organism. Caulobacter crescentus has a polar cellular extension called a stalk that elongates dramatically in response to phosphate starvation. Stalk synthesis is a highly regulated process of unidirectional extension of the cell envelope. The stalk also serves as a cell polarity marker during the asymmetric cell division in Caulobacter crescentus. The phenomenon of stalk localization is governed by a polar localization complex; however, the mechanism of stalk synthesis remains unknown. The current work aims at characterizing a novel penicillin binding protein (PBP), CC_2105 that may have a function in the regulation of stalk synthesis.