Thicket and Mesh: How the Outer Membrane Can Resist Tension Imposed by the Cell Wall

J Phys Chem B. 2024 Jun 6;128(22):5371-5377. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c08510. Epub 2024 May 24.

Abstract

The cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria is composed of an outer membrane (OM) and an inner membrane (IM) and a peptidoglycan cell wall (CW) between them. Combined with Braun's lipoprotein (Lpp), which connects the OM and the CW, and numerous membrane proteins that exist in both OM and IM, the cell envelope creates a mechanically stable environment that resists various physical and chemical perturbations to the cell, including turgor pressure caused by the solute concentration difference between the cytoplasm of the cell and the extracellular environment. Previous computational studies have explored how individual components (OM, IM, and CW) can resist turgor pressure although combinations of them have been less well studied. To that end, we constructed multiple OM-CW systems, including the Lpp connections with the CW under increasing degrees of strain. The results show that the OM can effectively resist the tension imposed by the CW, shrinking by only 3-5% in area even when the CW is stretched to 2.5× its relaxed area. The area expansion modulus of the system increases with increasing CW strain, although the OM remains a significant contributor to the envelope's mechanical stability. Additionally, we find that when the protein TolC is embedded in the OM, its stiffness increases.

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Outer Membrane / chemistry
  • Bacterial Outer Membrane / metabolism
  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins* / chemistry
  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins* / metabolism
  • Cell Wall* / chemistry
  • Cell Wall* / metabolism
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Peptidoglycan* / chemistry
  • Peptidoglycan* / metabolism

Substances

  • Peptidoglycan
  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins