Wall teichoic acids regulate peptidoglycan synthesis to maintain rod shape in Bacillus subtilis

Data for Barber et al., Nature Microbiology (2026).https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.09.02.610702v3Abstract: Rod-shaped bacteria like Bacillus subtilis achieve their shape using Rod complexes that synthesize anisotropic peptidoglycan, rather than PBP1, which synthesizes isotropic peptidoglycan. Wall teichoic acids are also required for rod-shape, but their role is unclear. Here, we use single-cell microfluidics and microscopy to show that wall teichoic acids promote rod shape by preventing the formation of nanoscopic pores in the B. subtilis cell wall. Wall teichoic acid depletion led to pore formation within minutes, coinciding with a rapid increase in PBP1-mediated peptidoglycan synthesis, which became essential for growth, and transient arrest of Rod complexes prior to the onset of amorphous growth. A synthetically lethal cell wall hydrolase, LytE, became essential during wall teichoic acid depletion, meaning that PBP1 and LytE cooperatively execute amorphous growth in the absence of teichoic acids. Our results show that wall teichoic acids prevent cell wall pore formation, promoting Rod complex activity and preventing PBP1 activity to maintain cell shape.