Effects of Lipopolysaccharide Core Sugar Deficiency on Colanic Acid Biosynthesis

What is it about?

E. coli cells can activate colanic acid production through the RcsCDB phosphorelay system in response to a structural deficiency of lipopolysaccharide.

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Why is it important?

This study demonstrates, for the first time, that E. coli cells can activate colanic acid production through the RcsCDB phosphorelay system in response to a structural change of lipopolysaccharide, suggesting that bacterial cells can monitor the outer membrane integrity, which is essential for cell survival and damage repair.