{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "14437e91316b4d6297838ae45d75fc81", "timestamp": "2026-09-07T11:55:21.906Z", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/14437e91316b4d6297838ae45d75fc81.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/14437e91316b4d6297838ae45d75fc81"}}, "title": "Bacterial cell surface nanoenvironment requires a specialized chaperone to activate a peptidoglycan biosynthetic enzyme.", "authors": [{"family": "Delerue", "given": "Thomas", "initials": "T"}, {"family": "Chareyre", "given": "Sylvia", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "Anantharaman", "given": "Vivek", "initials": "V"}, {"family": "Gilmore", "given": "Michael C", "initials": "MC"}, {"family": "Popham", "given": "David L", "initials": "DL"}, {"family": "Cava", "given": "Felipe", "initials": "F"}, {"family": "Aravind", "given": "L", "initials": "L"}, {"family": "Ramamurthi", "given": "Kumaran S", "initials": "KS"}], "type": "preprint", "published": "2023-10-06", "journal": {"title": "bioRxiv", "issn": "2692-8205", "issn-l": null}, "abstract": "Bacillus subtilis spores are produced inside the cytosol of a mother cell. Spore surface assembly requires the SpoVK protein in the mother cell, but its function is unknown. Here, we report that SpoVK is a dedicated chaperone from a distinct higher-order clade of AAA+ ATPases that activates the peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase MurG during sporulation, even though MurG does not normally require activation by a chaperone during vegetative growth. MurG redeploys to the spore surface during sporulation, where we show that the local pH is reduced and propose that this change in cytosolic nanoenvironment necessitates a specific chaperone for proper MurG function. Further, we show that SpoVK participates in a developmental checkpoint in which improper spore surface assembly inactivates SpoVK, which leads to sporulation arrest. The AAA+ ATPase clade containing SpoVK includes other dedicated chaperones involved in secretion, cell-envelope biosynthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism, suggesting that such fine-tuning might be a widespread feature of different subcellular nanoenvironments.", "doi": "10.1101/2023.10.06.561273", "pmid": "37986874", "labels": [], "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC10659427"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "2023.10.06.561273"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-08-20T10:48:14.351Z", "modified": "2026-08-20T10:48:14.407Z"}