PENICILLIN-BINDING PROTEINS - WALL PEPTIDOGLYCAN ASSEMBLY AND RESISTANCE TO PENICILLIN - FACTS, DOUBTS AND HOPES

The assembly of the bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan relies upon the availability of a ready-made precursor, the lipid II intermediate. Thi s intermediate is taken up by a multifunctional factory that provides the required enzymatic activities for polymer assembly at the exterior of the plasma membrane. Morphogenetic networks regulate the synthesis in a cell-cycle-dependent fashion. As essential components of the cel l machinery are targets of beta-lactam antibiotics, safety devices pro tect the cells against these toxic agents. Controversy and consensus f ormation lie at the heart of the scientific research. This review focu ses on questions that bacterial cell wall biochemists still strive, wi th increasing success, to answer. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.