Distinct cytoskeletal proteins define zones of enhanced cell wall synthesis in . Author Jennifer Taylor, Benjamin Bratton, Sophie Sichel, Kris Blair, Holly Jacobs, Kristen DeMeester, Erkin Kuru, Joe Gray, Jacob Biboy, Michael VanNieuwenhze, Waldemar Vollmer, Catherine Grimes, Joshua Shaevitz, Nina Salama Publication Year 2020 Type Journal Article Abstract Helical cell shape is necessary for efficient stomach colonization by , but the molecular mechanisms for generating helical shape remain unclear. The helical centerline pitch and radius of wild-type cells dictate surface curvatures of considerably higher positive and negative Gaussian curvatures than those present in straight- or curved-rod . Quantitative 3D microscopy analysis of short pulses with either -acetylmuramic acid or D-alanine metabolic probes showed that cell wall growth is enhanced at both sidewall curvature extremes. Immunofluorescence revealed MreB is most abundant at negative Gaussian curvature, while the bactofilin CcmA is most abundant at positive Gaussian curvature. Strains expressing CcmA variants with altered polymerization properties lose helical shape and associated positive Gaussian curvatures. We thus propose a model where CcmA and MreB promote PG synthesis at positive and negative Gaussian curvatures, respectively, and that this patterning is one mechanism necessary for maintaining helical shape. Keywords Bacterial Proteins, Helicobacter pylori, Cytoskeletal Proteins, Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins, Cell Wall, Alanine, Peptidoglycan, Muramic Acids Journal Elife Volume 9 Date Published 2020 Jan 09 ISSN Number 2050-084X DOI 10.7554/eLife.52482 Alternate Journal Elife PMCID PMC7012605 PMID 31916938 PubMedPubMed CentralGoogle ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML