A New Class of Cell Wall-Recycling l , d -Carboxypeptidase Determines β-Lactam Susceptibility and Morphogenesis in Acinetobacter baumannii

Abstract

To grow efficiently, resist antibiotics, and control the immune response, bacteria recycle parts of their cell wall. A key step in the typical recycling pathway is the reuse of cell wall peptides by an enzyme known as an l , d -carboxypeptidase (LDC). Acinetobacter baumannii , an “urgent-threat” pathogen causing drug-resistant sepsis in hospitals, was previously thought to lack this enzymatic activity due to absence of a known LDC homolog.