Entropy, stress, and collapse : mechanics of the gram-positive bacterial cell envelope
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This thesis examines three topics that are related to the Gram-positive bacterial cell envelope. First, I examine how transmembrane proteins navigate through the thick, heavily cross-linked Gram-positive cell wall while remaining anchored to the bacterial membrane. I develop a theoretical model that predicts that entropic confinement of a disordered protein can drive translocation through the cell wall. I experimentally test important predictions of the model to demonstrate that translocation depends on the length of the translocating protein and the geometry of the bacterial surface, while demonstrating that entropy-driven translocation occurs in a variety of Gram-positive species. Second, I study how the antimicrobial peptide nisin causes cell death in Gram-positive bacteria. I demonstrate that nisin treatment triggers membrane collapse in multiple Gram-positive species, and provide evidence that collapse is initiated by an increase in compressive stress in the membrane. Finally, I examine the process of cell division in the Gram-positive coccus Staphylococcus aureus. Contrary to the current view of S. aureus division, cell volume increases monotonically during the cell cycle, as opposed to occurring entirely during cell separation. I observed a dramatic millisecond hemisphere-to-sphere transition during cell separation that was accompanied by a decrease in surface area, suggesting that separation is associated with a redistribution of cell wall stress.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2013 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Halladin, David |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Microbiology and Immunology. |
| Primary advisor | Theriot, Julie |
| Thesis advisor | Theriot, Julie |
| Thesis advisor | Huang, Kerwyn Casey, 1979- |
| Thesis advisor | Monack, Denise M |
| Thesis advisor | Schneider, David (David Samuel) |
| Advisor | Huang, Kerwyn Casey, 1979- |
| Advisor | Monack, Denise M |
| Advisor | Schneider, David (David Samuel) |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | David Halladin. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2013. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2013 by David Karl Halladin
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...