
Aeg1 is a previously unrecognized core component of the Acinetobacter baumannii divisome that interacts with multiple cell division proteins, including FtsN, to recruit and activate the septal peptidoglycan synthase FtsWI.


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Identification of unique essential bacterial genes is important for not only the understanding of their cell biology but also the development of new antimicrobials. Here we report a previously unrecognized core component of the Acinetobacter baumannii divisome. Our results reveal that the protein, termed Aeg1 interacts with multiple cell division proteins, including FtsN, which is required for components of the divisome to localize to the midcell. We demonstrate that the FtsAE202K and FtsBE65A mutants effectively bypassed the need of Aeg1 by A . baumannii , as did the activation variants FtsWM254I and FtsWS274G. Our results suggest that Aeg1 is a cell division protein that arrives at the division site to initiate cell division by recruiting FtsN, which activates FtsQLB and FtsA to induce the septal peptidoglycan synthase FtsWI. The discovery of the new essential cell division protein has provided a new target for the development of antibacterial agents.

### Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

A unique cell division protein critical for the assembly of the bacterial divisome

identification-of-a-novel-essential-cell-division-protein-aeg1-in-the-pathogenic-bacterium-acinetobacter-baumannii


Identification of a Novel Essential Cell Division Protein Aeg1 in the Pathogenic Bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii
