Acyl-phosphates initiate membrane phospholipid synthesis in Gram-positive pathogens.
It is not known how Gram-positive bacterial pathogens carry out glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) acylation, which is the first step in the formation of phosphatidic acid, the key intermediate in membrane phospholipid synthesis. In Escherichia coli, acylation of the 1-position of G3P is carried out by PlsB; however, the majority of bacteria lack a plsB gene and in others it is not essential. We describe a two-step pathway that utilizes a new fatty acid intermediate for the initiation of phospholipid formation. First, PlsX produces a unique activated fatty acid by catalyzing the synthesis of fatty acyl-phosphate from acyl- acyl carrier protein, and then PlsY transfers the fatty acid from acyl-phosphate to the 1-position of G3P. The PlsX/Y pathway defines the most widely distributed pathway for the initiation of phospholipid formation in bacteria and represents a new target for the development of antibacterial therapeutics.[1]References
- Acyl-phosphates initiate membrane phospholipid synthesis in Gram-positive pathogens. Lu, Y.J., Zhang, Y.M., Grimes, K.D., Qi, J., Lee, R.E., Rock, C.O. Mol. Cell (2006) [Pubmed]
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