Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Nov;1862(11):1340-1354.
doi: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2017.01.005. Epub 2017 Jan 19.

Transport of outer membrane lipids in mycobacteria

Megan H Touchette  1 , Jessica C Seeliger  2
Affiliations
Review

Transport of outer membrane lipids in mycobacteria

Megan H Touchette et al. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

The complex organization of the mycobacterial cell wall poses unique challenges for the study of its assembly. Although mycobacteria are classified evolutionarily as Gram-positive bacteria, their cell wall architecture more closely resembles that of Gram-negative organisms. They possess not only an inner cytoplasmic membrane, but also a bilayer outer membrane that encloses an aqueous periplasm and includes diverse lipids that are required for the survival and virulence of pathogenic species. Questions surrounding how mycobacterial outer membrane lipids are transported from where they are made in the cytoplasm to where they function at the cell exterior are thus similar, and similarly compelling, to those that have driven the study of Gram-negative outer membrane transport pathways. However, little is understood about these processes in mycobacteria. Here we contextualize these questions by comparing our current knowledge of mycobacteria with better-defined systems in other organisms. Based on this analysis, we propose possible models and highlight continuing challenges to improving our understanding of outer membrane assembly in these medically and environmentally important bacteria. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Bacterial Lipids edited by Russell E. Bishop.

Keywords: Cell wall; Lipoprotein; Mycobacteria; Outer membrane; Transport.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources