| Description | The bacterial MreBCD proteins are involved in rod shape determination and have a postulated role in the regulation of septum-specific peptidoglycan synthesis [1]. Members of the actin-like MreB family of proteins localize as a helical filament in bacteria and are important for determining cylindrical cell shape. Recent results show that new cell wall biosynthesis occurs along a helical track dependent on one of these actin homologs, providing new insights into bacterial cell growth, division and shape [2]. MreC and MreD are membrane-associated proteins. MreC is an essential gene in B. subtilis; cells lacking sufficient quantities of MreC undergo morphological changes, namely, swelling and twisting of the cells, which is followed by cell lysis [3]. MreC and MreD may be involved in the regulation of cell-shape-related protease expression [5].
There is evidence of the existence of a separate rod-shape determining system in rod-shaped bacteria lacking the MreBCD system [4].
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| Literature References | [ 1 ]Lee JC, Cha JH, Zerbv DB, Stewart GC. Heterospecific expression of the Bacillus subtilis cell shape determination genes mreBCD in Escherichia coli. Curr Microbiol. 2003 Aug; 47(2): 146-52. PMID 14506864
[ 2 ]Margolin W. Bacterial shape: growing off this mortal coil. Curr Biol. 2003 Sep 16; 13(18): R705-7. PMID 13678608
[ 3 ]Lee JC, Stewart GC. Essential nature of the mreC determinant of Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 2003 Aug; 185(15): 4490-8. PMID 12867458
[ 4 ]Daniel RA, Errington J. Control of cell morphogenesis in bacteria: two distinct ways to make a rod-shaped cell. Cell. 2003 Jun 13; 113(6): 767-76. PMID 12809607
[ 5 ]Kubo M, Pierro DJ, Mochizuki Y, Kojima T, Yamazaki T, Satoh S, Takizawa N, Kiyohara H. Bacillus stearothermophilus cell shape determinant gene, mreC and mreD, and their stimulation of protease production in Bacillus subtilis. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 1996 Feb; 60(2): 271-6. PMID 9063975
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