Identification and characterization of a novel lytic peptidoglycan transglycosylase (MltC) in Shigella dysenteriae

Shigellosis remains a worldwide health problem due to the lack of vaccines and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. Shigella (S.) dysenteriae has rigid peptidoglycan (PG), and its tight regulation of biosynthesis and remodeling is essential for bacterial integrity. Lytic transglycosylases are highly conserved PG autolysins in bacteria that play essential roles in bacterial growth. However, their precise functions are obscure. We aimed to identify, clone, and express MltC, a unique autolysin in Escherichia (E.) coli C41 strain. The purification of recombinant MltC protein was performed using affinity chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography methods. The PG enzymatic activity of MltC was investigated using Zymogram and Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled PG assays. Also, we aimed to detect its localization in bacterial fractions (cytoplasm and membrane) by western blot using specific polyclonal anti-MltC antibodies and its probable partners using immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry applications. Purified MltC showed autolysin activity. Native MltC showed various locations in S. dysenteriae cells during different growth phases. In the Lag and early stationary phases, MltC was not found in cytoplasm and membrane fractions. However, it was detected in cytoplasm and membrane fractions during the exponential phase. In the late stationary phase, MltC was expressed in the membrane fraction only. Different candidate protein partners of MltC were identified that could be essential for bacterial growth and pathogenicity. This is the first study to suggest that MltC is indeed autolysin and could be a new drug target for the treatment of shigellosis by understanding its biological functions.