SFB 766:  The Bacterial Cell Envelope: Structure, Function and Infection Interface

• Subject Area: Medicine ; Biology ; Chemistry
• Term: from 2007 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 32152271

The bacterial envelope determines the shape, surface properties and solute permeability of bacteria. Moreover, it serves as a barrier by which bacteria interact and communicate with each other and the environment thereby exerting a decisive function in bacterial physiology, morphogenesis, transport, and sensitivity or resistance towards antimicrobial agents. In pathogens, the bacterial surface plays a crucial role in infections and elicits immune reactions. Research on the bacterial cell envelope in recent years has discovered that the bacterial cell wall has a number of unexpected features: The cell wall turned out not to be a static barrier for the cell, but it takes over important functions in many essential processes such as differentiation, cell division and cell-cell communication. Furthermore it became clear that the cell wall is involved in all steps of bacteria-host recognition, interaction and response. This Collaborative Research Centre, has substantially contributed to this new perception on the role of the bacterial cell envelope and is dedicated to further expanding our understanding of bacterial cell envelope. The investigations are organized in two tightly integrated sections: Section A and Section B. Central subjects in Section A will be the synthesis, turnover, and chemical composition of peptidoglycan, lipids and glycopolymers in different bacteria. In addition, transport of molecules and signals across the cell wall will be investigated. These studies will provide crucial insights into the dynamic structure and function of the bacterial cell envelope. Section B addresses the role of individual components of the bacterial cell envelope in microbe-host interaction in bacterial colonization and infection. A particular emphasis will be put on proteins of the bacterial surface that interact with eukaryotic host cells or promote secretion of effector molecules as well as on the recognition of envelope components of the immune system of human, murine and plant cells. The interdisciplinary consortium will characterize the cell wall with a combination of methods including cellular microbiology, structural biology, molecular genetics, biochemistry and bioinformatics. The results will enhance our understanding of bacterial physiology and pathogenicity and will contribute to the identification of new antibiotics, vaccines and diagnostics aiming to the development of new preventive and curative health care strategies.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres

Completed projects

• A01 - Interactions and Reactions of Murein Biosynthetic Enzymes (Project Head Bertsche, Ute )
• A02 - Control and Activity of the Streptomyces Spore Wall Synthesizing Complex (SSSC) (Project Heads Muth, Günther ;  Wohlleben, Wolfgang )
• A03 - Self-resistance mechanisms of actinomycetes producing antibiotics targeting peptidoglycan biosynthesis (Project Head Stegmann, Ph.D., Efthimia )
• A05 - Influx and efflux of new aminocoumarin derivatives across the bacterial cell envelope (Project Heads Gust, Bertolt ;  Heide, Lutz )
• A06 - Excretion of cytoplasmic proteins (ECP) in Staphylococcus (Project Head Götz, Friedrich )
• A07 - Bistable expression of secondary cell wall glycopolymer biosynthesis genes: underlying mechanism and impact on virulence (Project Heads Weidenmaier, Christopher ;  Wolz, Christiane )
• A08 - Phospholipid synthesis and translocation by bacterial UPF0104 proteins (Project Head Peschel, Andreas )
• A09 - Rational design of bacterial glycosyltransferase inhibitors (Project Head Kohlbacher, Oliver )
• A10 - The bacterial cell envelope as a target structure for dermcidin (Project Head Schittek, Birgit )
• A11 - Structure and biogenesis of cell-cell junctions in multicellular cyanobacteria (Project Heads Forchhammer, Karl ;  Maldener, Iris )
• A12 - Periplasmic target-inhibition by natural products and cell wall translocation of inhibitors (Project Heads Grond, Stephanie ;  Gust, Bertolt )
• A13 - Elucidation of the unique conjugative DNA-translocation machinery of mycelial streptomycetes by biochemical analysis and real time imaging (Project Head Muth, Günther )
• A14 - Bacteriophage-host interaction at the cell envelope of Gram-positive pathogens (Project Heads Goerke, Christiane ;  Peschel, Andreas ;  Xia, Guoqing )
• A15 - Turnover and recycling of the peptidoglycan-teichoic acid complex of Gram-positive cell wall (Project Head Mayer, Christoph )
• A16 - The role of Type I Secretion Systems (T1SS) in formation of the heterocyst specific cell wall (N) (Project Head Maldener, Iris )
• A17 - Spatiotemporal organization of peptidoglycan synthesis and cell division (N) (Project Heads Brötz-Oesterhelt, Heike ;  Sass, Peter )
• B01 - Biogenesis of autotransporter adhesins of enteropathogenic Gram-negative bacteria (Project Heads Autenrieth, Ingo Birger ;  Schütz, Monika )
• B03 - Functional analysis of the BadA-dependent host cell interaction of Bartonella henselae (Project Head Kempf, Volkhard A. J. )
• B04 - Structure and evolution of protein fibers at the bacterial cell surface (Project Heads Hernandez Alvarez, Birte ;  Lupas, Andrei N. )
• B05 - Structure and Function of Bacterial Cell Wall Proteins (Project Head Stehle, Thilo )
• B06 - Physiological effects of staphylococcal peptidoglyans on host cells (Project Head Lang, Florian )
• B07 - Bacterial effector-mediated interference with PGN-perception in plants (Project Heads Gust, Andrea A. ;  Nürnberger, Thorsten )
• B08 - Transmembrane Signaling in Bacterial Adenylate Cyclases (Project Heads Schultz, Joachim E. ;  Stehle, Thilo )
• B09 - Structure-function relationship of zwitterionic cell wall polymer dependent immune modulatory mechanisms (Project Head Weidenmaier, Christopher )
• B10 - Alternative autotransport mechanisms: C-terminal autotransport (Project Head Linke, Dirk )
• B11 - Biogenesis of outer membrane proteins in evolutionary context (Project Head Rapaport, Doron )
• B14 - Analysis of the assembly of bacterial type III secretion systems (Project Head Wagner, Ph.D., Samuel )
• B15 - Analysis of adherence mechanisms to host cells promoting T3SS-mediated toxin injection (Project Heads Autenrieth, Ingo Birger ;  Oesterhelt, Filipp )
• B16 - Mechanisms governing polar localization and assembly of the host cell targeting type VI secretion system (Project Head Schwarz, Sandra )
• Z01 - Central tasks (Project Head Wohlleben, Wolfgang )
• Z02 - Structural Analysis of Cell Wall Protein Components (Project Heads Bertsche, Ute ;  Macek, Boris ;  Stehle, Thilo )

• Applicant Institution: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
• Participating Institution: Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Wohlleben