In Situ probing of newly synthesized peptidoglycan in live bacteria with fluorescent D-amino acids

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2012 Dec 7;51(50):12519-23. doi: 10.1002/anie.201206749. Epub 2012 Oct 10.

Abstract

Tracking a bug's life: Peptidoglycan (PG) of diverse bacteria is labeled by exploiting the tolerance of cells for incorporating different non-natural D-amino acids. These nontoxic D-amino acids preferably label the sites of active PG synthesis, thereby enabling fine spatiotemporal tracking of cell-wall dynamics in phylogenetically and morphologically diverse bacteria. HCC = 7-hydroxycoumarin, NBD = 7-nitrobenzofurazan, TAMRA = carboxytetramethylrhodamine.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agrobacterium tumefaciens / metabolism
  • Amino Acids / chemistry*
  • Bacillus subtilis / metabolism
  • Bacteria / metabolism*
  • Benzoxazoles / chemistry
  • Biosensing Techniques
  • Cell Wall / chemistry
  • Cell Wall / metabolism
  • Coumarins / chemistry
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • Microscopy
  • Peptidoglycan / biosynthesis*
  • Peptidoglycan / chemistry

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Benzoxazoles
  • Coumarins
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Peptidoglycan
  • benzofurazan
  • coumarin