RodZ acts through MreBCD to activate the elongasome in Escherichia coli.

RodZ activates the elongasome in Escherichia coli by interacting with MreC and MreB, triggering lateral peptidoglycan synthesis through two signaling cascades.

• Why it matters: Understanding how bacteria regulate cell shape and peptidoglycan synthesis is crucial for insights into bacterial growth and potential antibiotic targets. The mechanisms controlling elongasome activity remain incompletely understood, especially how its components interact to promote lateral PG synthesis.
• What they did: Researchers characterized MreC mutations affecting elongasome activity and found that RodZ interacts with MreC via a periplasmic region and with MreB via its cytoplasmic region, working synergistically with MreC mutations to promote rod-shaped growth.
• The result: RodZ activates the elongasome by initiating signaling in both the periplasm and cytoplasm, likely switching MreBCD to an active state to stimulate RodA-PBP2 activity, paralleling mechanisms of divisome activation in E. coli.