Identification and characterization of cell wall-cell division gene clusters in pathogenic gram-positive cocci

Abstract

Clusters of peptidoglycan biosynthesis and cell division genes (DCW genes) were identified and sequenced in two gram-positive cocci, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis. The results indicated some similarities in organization compared with previously reported bacterial DCW gene clusters, including the presence of penicillin-binding proteins at the left ends and ftsA and ftsZ cell division genes at the right ends of the clusters. However, there were also some important differences, including the absence of several genes, the comparative sizes of the div1B and ftsQ genes, and a wide range of amino acid sequence similarities when the genes of the gram-positive cocci were translated and compared to bacterial homologs.