Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology

Staff Profile

Professor Waldemar Vollmer

Prof of Bacterial Biochemistry

Background

Qualifications

Dr. rer. nat. Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, Germany

Dipl. Chemistry, University of Basel, Switzerland

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Chemistry, Technical College (Fachhochschule) Reutlingen, Germany

Current Positions

Professorial Fellow and Group Leader (University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia)

Professor of Bacterial Biochemistry (Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)

Previous Positions

2003 to 2006 University of Tübingen, Germany

2001 to 2002 Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany

1998 to 2000 Rockefeller University, New York, USA

Memberships

American Academy of Microbiology and American Society for Microbiology

European Academy of Microbiology

Society for General Microbiology

Vereinigung für Allgemeine und Angewandte Mikrobiologie 

Appointments, Honours and Awards

2023 Professorial Fellow and Group Leader, University of Queensland (Australia)

2018 co-Chair Gordon Conference on Bacterial Cell Surfaces, Mt. Snow, USA

2018 Elected Fellow of the European Academy of Microbiology

2017 Plenary Speaker at the International Union of Microbiology Societies (IUMS) conference, Singapore

2016 Highly Cited Researcher in Microbiology (Thomson Reuters)

2016 co-Organizer EMBO Workshop on Bacterial Cell Division, Prague, Czech Republic

2016 co-Vice Chair Gordon Conference on Bacterial Cell Surfaces, Mt. Snow, USA

2015 Keynote Lecture XXXVI Congreso Chileno de Microbiología, La Serena, Chile

2015 PHOENIX Pharmazie Wissenschaftspreis

2015 Keynote Lecture Great Wall Symposium, Florence, Italy

2015 Keynote Lecture Europneumo conference, Oxford, UK

2015 Visiting Professorship University of Cagliari, Italy

2014 Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

2014- Editorial Board Journal of Bacteriology

2013 Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award

2012 Distinguished Scientist Visiting Scholarship Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

2012-2017 Editorial Advisory Board Molecular Microbiology

2012- Editorial Advisory Board Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

2003- Editorial Advisory Board Microbial Drug Resistance

2000-2001 Charles H. Revson Fellowship


Research

Research Interests

  • Bacterial cell wall structure and architecture
  • Mechanism of peptidoglycan growth and cell division
  • Regulation of cell wall synthesis and bacterial morphogenesis

Co-workers (Newcastle)

Dr Jacob Varghese Biboy

Isil Ezman

Dr Victor Hernandez-Rocamora

Dr Katsuya Fuchino

Co-workers (Brisbane)

Sam Gastrell

Debanjana Maity

Jared Ng

Dr Rudi Sullivan

Dr Daniela Vollmer

Current Work

Bacteria have a highly complex cell envelope. The essential peptidoglycan sacculus is a mesh-like cell envelope layer required to protect the cell from rupture due to its turgor and to maintain cell shape. The biosynthetic pathway of peptidoglycan synthesis is the target of our most successful antimicrobials, the beta-lactams and glycopeptides. During growth and cell division the sacculus surface is enlarged by the combined actions of peptidoglycan synthases (penicillin-binding proteins, PBPs) and hydrolases (lytic transglycosylases, amidases and endopeptidases). According to a current model, peptidoglycan enzymes and cell morphogenesis proteins form dynamic multi-enzyme complexes which are regulated by cytoskeletal elements. Escherichia coli and presumably other Gram-negative bacteria also regulate peptidoglycan growth by outer membrane-anchored lipoproteins that specifically stimulate their cognate, inner membrane-anchored synthase. 

Our research aims to decipher the molecular mechanisms of peptidoglycan growth in the model bacterium Escherichia coli and other Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. We study the activities and interactions of peptidoglycan enzymes and aim to identify novel members of the pathway. We also investigate the spatiotemporal regulation of peptidoglycan growth and the mechanisms of cell shape generation in various species. Finally, we determine the peptidoglycan fine structure (muropeptide composition) and cell wall architecture in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, European Commission, Medical Research Council, The Royal Society, Wellcome Trust

Publications


231. Corona F, Vollmer W. 2024. Monitoring the interaction of the peptidoglycan with the bacterial β-barrel assembly machinery. Methods in Molceular Biology 2778, 159-183.

230. Oluwole AO, Hernández-Rocamora VM, Cao Y, Li X, Vollmer W, Robinson CV, Bolla JR. 2024. Real-time biosynthetic reaction monitoring informs the mechanism of action of antibiotics. Journal of the American Chemical Society 146, 7007–7017.

229. Alodaini D#, Hernandez-Rocamora V#, Boelter G#, Ma X#, Alao MB, Doherty HM, Bryant JA, Moynihan P, Moradigaravand D, Glinkowska M, Vollmer W*, Banzhaf M*. 2024. Reduced peptidoglycan synthesis capacity impairs growth of E. coli at high salt concentration. MBio, in press. [# Contributed equally; *Corresponding authors]     

228. Sorlin A, López-Álvarez M, Biboy J, Gray J, Rabbitt S, Rahim J, Lee SH, Bobba KN, Blecha J, Parker M, Flavell R, Engel J, Ohliger M, Vollmer W, Wilson D. 2024. Peptidoglycan-targeted [18F]3,3,3-trifluoro-D-alanine tracer for imaging bacterial infection. JACS Au 4(3):1039-1047.

227. Pöhl S, Osorio-Valeriano M, Cserti E, Harberding J, Hernández-Tamayo R, Biboy J, Sobetzko P, Vollmer W, Graumann PL, Thanbichler M. 2024. A dynamic bactofilin cytoskeleton cooperates with an M23 endopeptidase to control bacterial morphogenesis. eLife 12:RP86577.

226. Wang HJ, Hernández-Rocamora VM, Kuo CI, Hsieh KY, Lee SH, Ho MR, Tu Z, Vollmer W*, Chang CI*. 2023. Structural basis for the hydrolytic activity of the transpeptidase-like protein DpaA to detach Braun’s lipoprotein from peptidoglycan. MBio 14(5):e0137923. [*Corresponding authors]

225. Barnett MJ, Pinheiro J, Keown JR, Biboy J, Lucinescu IW, Vollmer W, Hirt RP, Simoes-Barbosa A, Goldstone DC. 2023. NlpC/P60 peptidoglycan hydrolases of Trichomonas vaginalis have complementary activities that empower the protozoan to control host-protective lactobacilli. PLOS Pathogens 19(8):e1011563.

224. Izquierdo-Martinez A, Miguel-Ruano V, Hernández-Tamayo R, Biboy J, Batuecas MT, Billini M, Glatter T, Vollmer W, Graumann P, Hermoso JA, Thanbichler M. 2023. DipM controls multiple autolysins and mediates a regulatory feedback loop promoting cell constriction in Caulobacter crescentus. Nature Communications 14(1):4095.

223. Frirdich E, Vermeulen J, Biboy J, Vollmer W, Gaynor EC. 2023. Multiple Campylobacter jejuni proteins affecting the degree of helical cell curvature. Frontiers in Microbiology 14:1162806.

222. Han R, Feng X, Vollmer W, Stoodley P, Chen J. 2023. Deciphering the adaption of bacterial cell wall mechanical integrity and turgor to different chemical or mechanical environments. Journal of Colloid And Interface Science 640, 510-520.

221. Reuter J, Otten C, Jacquier N, Lee J, Mengin-Lecreulx D, Löckener I, Kluj R, Mayer C, Corona F, Dannenberg J, Aeby S, Bühl H, Greub G, Vollmer W, Ouellette SP, Schneider T, Henrichfreise B. 2023. An NlpC/P60 protein catalyzes a key step in peptidoglycan recycling at the intersection of energy recovery, cell division and immune evasion in the intracellular pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis. PLOS Pathogens 19(2):e1011047.

220. Kermani A#*, Biboy J#, Vollmer D, Vollmer W*. 2022. Outer membrane-anchoring enables LpoB to regulate peptidoglycan synthesis rate. The Cell Surface 8:100086. [# Contributed equally; *Corresponding authors]

219. Cobo NL, Sibinelli-Sousa S, Biboy J, Vollmer W, Bayor-Santos E, Prehna G. 2022. Molecular characterization of the type VI secretion system effector Tlde1a reveals a structurally altered LD-transpeptidase fold. Journal of Biological Chemistry 298(11):102556.

218. Han R, Vollmer W, Perry JD, Stoodley P, Chen J. 2022. Simultaneous determination of the mechanical properties and turgor of a single bacterial cell using atomic force microscope. Nanoscale 14, 12060-12068.

217. Radkov A, Sapiro AL, Flores S, Henderson C, Saunders H, Kim R, Massa S, Thompson S, Mateusiak C, Biboy J, Zhao Z, Starita LM, Hatleberg W, Vollmer W, Russell AB, Simorre JP, Anthony-Cahill S, Brzovic P, Hayes B, Chou S. 2022. Antibacterial potency of Type VI amidase effector toxins is dependent on substrate topology and cellular context. eLife 11:e79796.

216. Xu Y, Hernandez-Rocamora VM, Lorent J, Cox R, Wang X, Bao X, Stel M, Vos G, van den Bos R, Pieters R, Gray J, Vollmer W, Breukink E. 2022. Metabolic labeling of the bacterial peptidoglycan by functionalized glucosamine. iScience 25:104753.

215. Wacnik K, Rao VA, Chen X, Lafage L, Pazos M, Booth S, Vollmer W, Hobbs JK, Lewis RL, Foster SJ. 2022. PBP1 of Staphylococcus aureus has multiple essential functions in cell division. mBio 13(4):e0066922.

214. Vollmer W. 2023. Bacterial cell walls: Peptidoglycan. In: Molecular Medical Microbiology (3rd Edition). Sails AD, Liu D, Hindiyeh M, Tang YW, Zhang JR, Maloy S, Spearman P (Eds.), Elsevier Academic Press, Waltham, USA.

213. Islam N, Kazi MI, Kang KN, Biboy J, Gray J, Ahmed F, Schargel RD, Boutte CC, Dörr T, Vollmer W, Boll JM. 2022. Peptidoglycan recycling promotes outer membrane integrity and carbapenem tolerance in Acinetobacter baumannii. mBio 13(3):e0100122.

212. Verheul J#, Lodge A#, Yau HCL#, Liu X#, Boelter G, Liu X, Solovyova AS, Typas A, Banzhaf M*, Vollmer W*, den Blaauwen T*. Early midcell localization of Escherichia coli PBP4 supports the function of peptidoglycan amidases. PLOS Genetics 18(5):e1010222. [# Contributed equally; * Corresponding authors]           

211. Mamou G#, Corona F#, Cohen-Khait R, Housden NG, Yeung V, Sun D, Sridhar P, Pazos M, Knowles TJ, Kleanthous C*, Vollmer W*. 2022. Peptidoglycan maturation controls outer membrane protein assembly. Nature 606, 953-959. [# Contributed equally; *Corresponding authors; Commentary: Deghelt M, Collet JF. 2022. Nature 606, 866-867.]

210. Garcia-Vello P, Tytgat HLP, Gray J, Elzinga J, Di Lorenzo F, Biboy J, Vollmer D, De Castro C, Vollmer W, de Vos WM, Molinaro A. 2022. Compositional and immunostimulatory analysis of the peptidoglycan from Akkermansia muciniphila MucT. Glycobiology 32, 712–719.

209. Oluwole AO, Corey RA, Brown CM, Hernández-Rocamora VM, Stansfeld PJ, Vollmer W, Bolla JR, Robinson CV. 2022. Peptidoglycan biosynthesis is driven by lipid transfer along enzyme-substrate affinity gradients. Nature Communications 13:2278.

208. Lemos Rocha LF, Peters K, Biboy J, Depelteau JS, Briegel A, Vollmer W, Blokesch M. 2022. The VarA-CsrA regulatory pathway influences cell shape in Vibrio cholerae. PLOS Genetics 18(3):e1010143.

207. Banks EJ, Valdivia-Delgado M, Biboy J, Wilson A, Cadby IT, Vollmer W, Lambert C, Lovering AL, Sockett RE. 2022. Asymmetric peptidoglycan editing generates cell curvature in Bdellovibrio predatory bacteria. Nature Communications 13:1509.

206. Zhu Y, McHale G, Dawson J, Armstrong S, Wells G, Han R, Liu H, Vollmer W, Stoodley P, Jakubovics N, Chen J. 2022. Slippery liquid-like solid surfaces with promising antibiofilm performance in both static and flow conditions. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 14, 6307-6319.

205. Goodall ECA, Isom GL, Rooke JL, Pullela K, Icke C, Yang Z, Boelter G, Jones A, Warner I, da Costa R, Zhang B, Rae J, Tan WB, Winkle M, Delhaye A, Heinz E, Collet JF, Cunningham AF, Blaskovich MA, Parton RG, Cole JA, Banzhaf M, Chng SS, Vollmer W, Bryant JA, Henderson IR. 2021. Loss of YhcB results in dysregulation of coordinated peptidoglycan, LPS and phospholipid synthesis during Escherichia coli cell growth. PLOS Genetics 17(12):e1009586.

204. Voedts H, Dorchêne D, Lodge A, Vollmer W, Arthur M, Hugonnet JE. 2021. Role of endopeptidases in peptidoglycan synthesis mediated by alternative cross-linking enzymes in Escherichia coli. EMBO Journal 40:e108126.

203. Gisch N, Peters K, Thomsen S, Vollmer W, Schwudke D, Denapaite D. 2021. Commensal Streptococcus mitis produces two different lipoteichoic acids of type I and type IV. Glycobiology 31, 1655–1669.

202. Steenhuis M, Corona F, ten Hagen-Jongman C, Vollmer W, Lambin D, Selhorst P, Klaassen H, Versele M, Chaltin P, Luirink J. 2021. Combining cell envelope stress reporter assays in a screening approach to identify BAM complex inhibitors. ACS Infectious Diseases 7, 2250-2263.

201. López-Pérez A, Freischem S, Grimm I, Weiergräber O, Dingley A, López-Alberca MP, Waldmann H, Vollmer W, Kumar K, Vuong C. 2021. Discovery of pyrrolidine-2,3-diones as novel inhibitors of P. aeruginosa PBP3. Antibiotics 10, 529. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10050529.

200. Sassine J, Pazos M, Breukink E, Vollmer W. 2021. Lytic transglycosylase MltG cleaves in nascent peptidoglycan and produces short glycan strands. The Cell Surface 7:100053.

199. Winkle M, Hernández-Rocamora VM, Pullela K, Goodall ECA, Martorana AM, Gray J, Henderson IR, Polissi A*, Vollmer W*. 2021. DpaA detaches Braun's lipoprotein from peptidoglycan. mBio 12:e00836-21. [*Corresponding authors]

198. Sutton J, Carnell O, Lafage L, Gray J, Biboy J,Gibson J, Pollitt E, Tazoll S, Turnbull W, Hajdamowicz N, Salamaga B, Pidwill G, Condliffe A, Renshaw S, Vollmer W, Foster SJ. 2021. Staphylococcus aureus cell wall structure and dynamics during host-pathogen    interaction. PLOS Pathogens 17(3):e1009468.

197. Mueller EA, Iken AG, Öztürk MA, Winkle M, Schmitz M, Vollmer W, Di Ventura B, Levin PA. 2021. The active repertoire of Escherichia coli peptidoglycan amidases varies with physiochemical environment. Molecular Microbiology 116, 311–328.

196. Gurnani Serrano CK, Winkle M, Martorana AM, Biboy J, Morè N, Moynihan P, Banzhaf M, Vollmer W*, Polissi A*. 2021. ActS activates peptidoglycan amidases during outer membrane stress in Escherichia coli. Molecular Microbiology 116, 329–342. [*Corresponding authors]

195. Hernández-Rocamora VM#, Baranova N#, Peters K, Breukink E, Loose M*, Vollmer W*. 2021. Real time monitoring of peptidoglycan synthesis by membrane-reconstituted penicillin binding proteins. eLife 10:e61525. [#Contributed equally; *Corresponding authors]

194. Taylor J, Santiago CC, Gray J, Wodzanowski KA, DeMeester KE, Biboy J, Vollmer W, Grimes CL, Salama NR. 2021. Localizing peptidoglycan synthesis in Helicobacter pylori using clickable metabolic probes. Current Protocols in Protein Science 1:e80. doi: 10.1002/cpz1.80..

193. Mikkelsen K, Sirisarn W, Alharbi O, Alharbi M, Liu H, Nøhr-Meldgaard K, Mayer K, Vestergaard M, Gallagher LM, Derrick JP, McBain AJ, Biboy J, Vollmer W, O’Gara JP, Grunert T, Ingmer H, Xia G. 2021. The novel membrane-associated auxiliary factors AuxA and AuxB modulate β-lactam resistance in MRSA by stabilizing lipoteichoic acids. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents 57(3):106283.

192. Pazos M, Vollmer W. 2021. Regulation and function of class A Penicillin-binding proteins. Current Opinion in Microbiology 60, 80-87.

191. Kang KM, Kazi MI, Biboy J, Gray J, Bovermann H, Ausman J, Boutte CC, Vollmer W, Boll J. 2021. Septal class A penicillin-binding protein activity and LD-transpeptidases mediate selection of colistin resistant lipooligosaccharide-deficient Acinetobacter baumannii. mBio 12(1):e02185-20.

190. Liu X, Biboy J, Consoli E, Vollmer W, den Blaauwen T. 2020. MreC and MreD balance the interaction between the elongasome proteins PBP2 and RodA. PLOS Genetics 16(12):e1009276.

189. Pazos M#*, Peters K#, Boes A, Safaei Y, Kenward C, Caveney NA, Laguri C, Breukink B, Strynadka NCJ, Simorre JP, Terrak M, Vollmer W*. 2020. SPOR proteins are required for functionality of class A Penicillin-binding proteins in Escherichia coli. mBio 11(6):e02796-20. [# Contributed equally; *Corresponding authors]

188. Hayes BM, Radkov AD, Yarza F, Flores S, Kim JR, Zhao Z, Lexa KW, Marnin L, Biboy J, Bowcutt V, Vollmer W, Pedra JHF, Chou S. 2020. Ticks resist skin commensals with immune factor of bacterial origin. Cell 183, 1562-1571.

187. Sassine J, Sousa J, Lalk M, Daniel RA*, Vollmer W*. 2020. Cell morphology maintenance in Bacillus subtilis through balanced peptidoglycan synthesis and hydrolysis. Scientific Reports 10(1):17910. [* Corresponding authors]

186 Krol E, Yau HLC, Lechner M, Schäper S, Bange G, Vollmer W, Becker A. 2020. Tol-Pal system and Rgs proteins interact to promote unipolar growth and cell division in Sinorhizobium meliloti. mBio 11(3):e00306-20.

185. Le NG, Peters K, Espaillat A, Sheldon JR, Gray J, Di Venanzio G, Lopez J, Djahanschiri B, Mueller EA, Hennon SW, Levin PA, Ebersberger I, Skaar EP, Cava F, Vollmer W, Feldman MF. 2020. Peptidoglycan editing provides immunity to Acinetobacter baumannii during bacterial warfare. Science Advances 6:eabb5614.

184. Caveney NA*, Egan AJF*, Ayala I, Laguri C, Robb CS, Breukink E, Vollmer W#, Strynadka NCJ#, Simorre JP#. 2020. Structure of the peptidoglycan synthase activator LpoP in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Structure 28, 643-650 [*Contributed equally; # corresponding authors]

183. Egan AJF, Errington J, Vollmer W. 2020. Regulation of peptidoglycan synthesis and remodelling. Nature Reviews Microbiology 18, 446–460.

182. Banzhaf M*, Yau HCL*, Verheul J*, Lodge A, Kritikos G, Mateus A, Cordier B, Hov AK, Stein F, Wartel M, Pazos M, Solovyova AS, Breukink E, van Teeffelen S, Savitski MM, den Blaauwen T#, Typas A#, Vollmer W#. 2020. Outer membrane lipoprotein NlpI scaffolds peptidoglycan hydrolases within multi-enzyme complexes in Escherichia coli. EMBO Journal 39:e102246. [*Contributed equally; # corresponding authors]

181. Taylor JA, Bratton BP, Sichel SR, Jacobs HM, Blair KM, DeMeester KE, Kuru E, Gray J, Biboy J, VanNieuwenhze MS, Vollmer W, Grimes CL, Shaevitz JW, Salama NR. 2020. Distinct cytoskeletal proteins define zones of enhanced cell wall synthesis in Helicobacter pylori. eLife 9:e52482.

180. Baranova N, Radler P, Hernandez-Rocamora V, Alfonso C, Del Mar Lopez Pelegrin M, Rivas G, Vollmer W, Loose M. 2020. Diffusion and capture permits dynamic coupling between treadmilling FtsZ filaments and cell division proteins. Nature Microbiology, doi:10.1038/s41564-019-0657-5.

179. Tomasz A, Massidda O, Vollmer W. 2020. The cell wall of Streptococcus pneumoniae. In: Gram Positive Pathogens. Fischetti VA, Novick RP, Ferretti JJ, Portnoy DA, Braunstein M, Rood JI (Eds.). 3rd edition. ASM Press, pp. 284-303.

178. Kuru E, Radkov A, Meng X, Egan A, Alvarez L, Dowson AD, Booher G, Breukink E, Roper D, Cava F, Vollmer W, Brun YV, VanNieuwenhze MS. 2019. Mechanisms of incorporation for D-amino acid probes that target peptidoglycan biosynthesis. ACS Chemical Biology 14, 2745-2756.

177. Hsu YP, Booher G, Egan AJF, Vollmer W, VanNieuwenhze MS. 2019. D-amino acid derivatives as in situ probes for visualizing bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Accounts of Chemical Research 52, 2713-2722.

176. Wood TE, Howard SA, Förster A, Nolan LM, Manoli E, Bullen NP, Yau HCL, Hachani A, Hayward RD, Whitney JC, Vollmer W, Freemont PS, Filloux A. 2019. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa T6SS delivers a periplasmic toxin that disrupts bacterial cell morphology. Cell Reports 29, 187-201.

175. Zaritsky A, Vollmer W, Männik J, Liu C. 2019. Does the nucleoid determine cell dimensions in Escherichia coli? Frontiers in Microbiology 10:1717.

174. Peters K, Pazos M, VanNieuwenhze MS, Vollmer W. 2019. Optimized protocol for the incorporation of FDAA (HADA labeling) for in situ labeling of peptidoglycan. Bio-protocol 9(15): e3316.

173. Tomasz A, Massidda O, Vollmer W. 2019. The cell wall of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Microbiology Spectrum 7(3). doi: 10.1128/microbiolspec.GPP3-0018-2018.

172. Maitra A, Munshi T, Healy J, Martin L, Vollmer W, Keep N, Bhakta S. 2019. Cell wall peptidoglycan in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: An Achilles’ heel for the TB-causing pathogen. FEMS Microbiology Reviews 43, 548–575.

171, Tomatsidou A, Koutsioulis D, Tzamarias D,Kokkinidis M, Vollmer W, Bouriotis V. 2019. Role of the putative polysaccharide deacetylase BA1836 from B. anthracis in spore development and germination. Advances in Microbiology 9, 679-702.

170. Jutras BL, Lochhead RB, Kloos ZA, Biboy J, Strle K, Gray J, Booth CJ, Govers SK, Vollmer W, Bockenstedt LK, Steere AC, Jacobs-Wagner C. 2019. Borrelia burgdorferi peptidoglycan is a persistent antigen in patients with Lyme arthritis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 116, 13498-13507.

169. Frirdich E, Biboy J, Pryjma M, Lee J, Huynh S, Parker CT, Girardin SE, Vollmer W, Gaynor EC. 2019. The Campylobacter jejuni helical to coccoid transition involves changes to peptidoglycan and the ability to elicit an immune response. Molecular Microbiology 112, 280–301.

168. Yang DC, Blair KM, Taylor JA, Petersen TW, Sessler T, Tull CM, Leverich C, Collar AL, Wyckoff TJ, Biboy J, Vollmer W, Salama NR. 2019. A genome-wide Helicobacter pylori morphology screen uncovers a membrane spanning helical cell shape complex. Journal of Bacteriology 201(14): e00724-18.

167. Banzhaf M*, Yau HCL*, Verheul J*, Lodge A, Kritikos G, Mateus A, Hov AK, Stein F, Wartel M, Pazos M, Solovyova AS, Savitski MM, den Blaauwen T#, Typas A#, Vollmer W#. 2019. The outer membrane lipoprotein NlpI nucleates hydrolases within peptidoglycan multi-enzyme complexes in Escherichia coli. bioRxiv, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/609503. [* Contributed equally; # corresponding authors]

166. Mueller EA, Egan AJF, Breukink E, Vollmer W, Levin PA. 2019. Plasticity of Escherichia coli cell wall metabolism promotes fitness and antibiotic resistance across environmental conditions. eLife 8:e40754.

165. Rausch M, Deisinger JP, Ulm H, Müller A, Li W, Hardt P, Wanf X, Li X, Sylvester M, Engeser M, Vollmer W, Müller CE, Sahl HG, Lee JC, Schneider T. 2019. Coordination of capsule assembly and cell wall biosynthesis in Staphylococcus aureus. Nature Communications 10(1):1404.

164. Billini M, Biboy J, Kühn J, Vollmer W, Thanbichler M. 2019. A specialized MreB-dependent complex mediates the formation of stalk-specific peptidoglycan in Caulobacter crescentus. PLOS Genetics 15(2):e1007897.

163. Morè N, Martorana AM#, Biboy J#, Otten C, Winkle M, Gurnani Serrano CK, Silva AM, Atkinson L, Yau H, Breukink E, den Blaauwen T, Vollmer W*, Polissi A*. 2019. Peptidoglycan remodeling enables E. coli to survive severe outer membrane assembly defect. mBio 10(1):e02729-18. [# Contributed equally; * corresponding authors]

162. Maya-Martinez R, Alexander A, Otten C, Ayala I, Vollmer D, Bougault C, Burt A, Laguri C, Fonvielle M, Arthur M, Strynadka N, Vollmer W, Simorre JP. 2019. Recognition of peptidoglycan fragments by the transpeptidase PBP4 from Staphylococcus aureus. Frontiers in Microbiology 9:3223.

161. Karinou E, Schuster CF, Pazos M, Vollmer W, Gründling A. 2019. Inactivation of the monofunctional peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase SgtB allows Staphylococcus aureus to survive in the absence of lipoteichoic acid. Journal of Bacterioloy 201(1):e00574-18.

160. Bougault C, Ayala I, Vollmer W, Simorre JP, Schanda P. 2019. Studying intact bacterial peptidoglycan by proton-detected NMR spectroscopy at 100 kHz MAS frequency. Journal of Structural Biology 206, 66-72.

159. Pinheiro J, Biboy J, Vollmer W, Hirt RP, Keown JR, Artuyants A, Goldstone DC, Simoes-Barbosa A. 2018. The protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis targets bacteria with laterally-acquired NlpC/P60 peptidoglycan hydrolases. mBio 9(6):e01784-18.

158. Pazos M, Peters K, Casanova M, Palacios P, VanNieuwenhze M, Breukink E, Vicente M, Vollmer W. 2018. Z-ring membrane anchors associate with cell wall synthases to initiate bacterial cell division. Nature Communications 9:5090.

157. Peters K, Pazos M, Edoo Z, Hugonnet JE, Martorana A, Polissi A, VanNieuwenhze MS, Arthur M, Vollmer W. 2018. Copper inhibits peptidoglycan LD-transpeptidases suppressing b-lactam resistance due to by-pass of Penicillin-binding proteins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 115, 10786-10791.

156. Turapov O, Forti F, Sassine J, Bottrill A, Wen LH, Straatman-Iwanowska A, Ghisotti D, Wallis R, Ajuh P, Vollmer W, Mukamolova G. 2018. Two faces of an essential PknB substrate in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Cell Reports 25, 57–67.

155. Klein TA, Pazos M, Surette MG, Vollmer W, Whitney JC. 2018. Molecular basis for immunity protein recognition of a type VII secretion system exported antibacterial toxin. Journal of Molecular Biology 430, 4344-4358.

154. Montón Silva, A, Otten C, Biboy J, Breukink E, VanNieuwenhze M, Vollmer W, den Blaauwen T. 2018. The fluorescent D-amino acid NADA as a tool to study the conditional activity of transpeptidases in Escherichia coli. Frontiers in Microbiology 9: 2101.

153. van der Aart LT, Spijksma GK, Harms A, Vollmer W, Hankemeier T, van Wezel GP. 2018. High-resolution analysis of the peptidoglycan composition in Streptomyces coelicolor. Journal of Bacteriology 200:e00290-18.

152. Dembek M, Kelly A, Barwinska-Sendra A, Vollmer D, Biboy J, Gray J, Vollmer W, Salgado PS. 2018. Peptidoglycan degradation machinery in Clostridium difficile forespore engulfment. Molecular Microbiology 110, 390-410.

151. Schäper S, Yau H, Krol E, Skotnick D, Heimerl T, Gray J, Kaever V, Søgaard-Andersen L, Vollmer W, Becker A. 2018. Seven-transmembrane receptor protein RgsP in concert with peptidoglycan-binding protein RgsM promotes zonal growth in Rhizobiales. PLOS Genetics 14(8):e1007594.

150. Geiger T, Pazos M, Lara-Tejero M, Vollmer W, Galán JE. 2018. Peptidoglycan editing by a specific LD-transpeptidase controls the muramidase-dependent secretion of typhoid toxin. Nature Microbiology, s41564-018-0248-x.

149. Morlot C, Straume D, Peters K, Hegnar O, Simon N, Villard AM, Contreras-Martel C, Leisico F, Breukink E, Gravier-Pelletier C, Le Corre L, Vollmer W, Pietrancosta N, Håvarstein L, Zapun A. 2018. Structure of the essential peptidoglycan amidotranferase MurT/GatD complex from Streptococcus pneumoniae. Nature Communications 9, 3180.

148. Egan AJF#, Maya-Martinez R#, Ayala I, Bougault CM, Banzhaf M, Breukink E, Vollmer W*, Simorre JP*. 2018. Induced conformational changes activate the peptidoglycan synthase PBP1B. Molecular Microbiology 110, 335-356. [# Contributed equally; * corresponding authors]

147. Kandemir N, Vollmer W, Jacubovics N, Chen J. 2018. Mechanical interactions between bacteria and hydrogels. Scientific Reports 8:10893.

146. Crépin S, Ottosen EN, Peters K, Smith SN, Himpsl SD, Vollmer W, Mobley HLT. 2018. The lytic transglycosylase MltB connects membrane homeostasis and in vivo fitness of Acinetobacter baumannii. Molecular Microbiology 109, 745-762.

145. Carnell SC, Perry JD, Borthwick L, Vollmer D, Biboy J, Facchini M, Bragonzi A, Silipo A, Vergunst A, Vollmer W, Khan CMA, DeSoyza A. 2018. Targeting the bacterial cytoskeleton of the Burkholderia cepacia complex for antimicrobial development – A cautionary tale. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 19:1604.

144. Jacq M, Arthaud C, Manuse S, Mercy C, Bellard L, Peters K, Gallet B, Galindo J, Doan T, Vollmer W, Brun YV, VanNieuwenhze MS, Di Guilmi AM, Vernet T, Grangeasse C Morlot C. 2018. The cell wall hydrolase Pmp23 is important for assembly and stability of the division ring in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Scientific Reports 8:7591.

143. Hernández-Rocamora VM, Otten CF, Radkov A, Simorre JP, Breukink E, VanNieuwenhze M, Vollmer W. 2018. Coupling of polymerase and carrier lipid phosphatase prevents product inhibition in peptidoglycan synthesis. The Cell Surface 2, 1-13.

142. Pazos M, Otten C, Vollmer W. 2018. Bacterial cell wall precursor phosphatase assays using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Bio-protocol 8(6):e2761.

141. Owen RA, Fyfe PK, Lodge A, Biboy J, Vollmer W, Hunter WN, Sargent F. 2018. Structure and activity of ChiX, a peptidoglycan hydrolase required for chitinase secretion by Serratia marcescens. Biochemical Journal 475, 415-428.

140. Rismondo J, Wamp S, Aldridge C, Vollmer W, Halbedel S. 2018. Stimulation of PgdA-dependent peptidoglycan N-deacetylation by GpsB-PBP A1 in Listeria monocytogenes. Molecular Microbiology 107, 472-487.

139. Otten C, Brilli M, Vollmer W, Viollier P, Salje J. 2018. Peptidoglycan in obligate intracellular bacteria. Molecular Microbiology 107, 142–163.

138. Robinson JC, Rostami N, Casement J, Vollmer W, Rickard AH, Jakubovics NS. 2018. ArcR modulates biofilm formation in the dental plaque colonizer Streptococcus gordonii. Molecular Oral Microbiology 33, 143-154.

137. Heß N, Waldow F, Kohler TP, Rohde M, Kraikemeyer B, Hain T, Schwudke D, Vollmer W, Hammerschmidt S, Gisch N. 2017. Lipoteichoic acid deficiency permits normal growth but impairs virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Nature Communications 8:2093.

136. Wilmes M, Meier K, Schiefer A, Josten M, Otten C, Vollmer W, Hoerauf A, Pfarr K. 2017. AmiD is a novel peptidoglycan amidase in Wolbachia endosymbionts of Drosophila melanogaster. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 7:353.

135. Whitney JC, Peterson SB, Kim J, Pazos M, Radey MC, Ching MQ, Bryant D, Goo YA, Surette MG, Vollmer W, Mougous JD. 2017. A broadly distributed toxin family mediates contact-dependent antagonism between Gram-positive bacteria. eLife 6:e26938.

134. Kuru E, Lambert C, Rittichier J, Till R, Ducret A, Derouaux A, Vollmer W, VanNieuwenhze M, Brun Y, Sockett RE. 2017. Fluorescent D-amino-acids reveal bi-cellular cell wall modifications important for Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus predation. Nature Microbiology 2, 1648-1657.

133. Dewachter L,Verstraeten N, Jennes M, Verbeelen T, Biboy J, Monteyne D, Pérez-Morgac D, Verstrepen KJ, Vollmer W, Fauvart M, Michiels J. 2017. A mutant isoform of ObgE causes irreversible cell cycle arrest by interfering with cell division. Frontiers in Microbiology 8:1193.

132. Cowell J, Buck M, Essa AH, Vollmer W, Vollmer D, Hilkens CM, Isaacs JD, Hall MJ, Gray J. 2017. Traceless-cleavage of protein-biotin conjugates under biologically-compatible conditions. ChemBioChem 18,1688-1691.

131. Schweizer I, Blättner S, Maurer P, Peters K, Vollmer D, Vollmer W, Hakenbeck R, Denapaite D. 2017. New aspects of the interplay between penicillin binding proteins, murM and the two component system CiaRH of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 19A isolates from Hungary. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 61, e00414-17.

130. Frirdich E, Biboy J, Huynh S, Parker CT, Vollmer W, Gaynor EC. 2017. Morphology heterogeneity within a Campylobacter jejuni helical population: the use of calcofluor white to isolate/select for straight C. jejuni 81-176 clones and the genetic determinants responsible for differences in morphology within 11168 strains. Molecular Microbiology 104, 948-971.

129. Pazos M, Peters K, Vollmer W. 2017. Robust peptidoglycan growth by dynamic and variable multi-protein complexes. Current Opinion in Microbiology 36, 55-61.

128. Leclercq S, Derouaux A, Olatunji S, Fraipont C, Egan AJF, Vollmer W, Breukink E, Terrak M. 2017. Interplay between Penicillin-binding proteins and SEDS proteins promotes bacterial cell wall synthesis. Scientific Reports 7:43306.

127. Egan AJF, Cleverley RM, Peters K, Lewis RJ, Vollmer W. 2017. Regulation of bacterial cell wall growth. FEBS Journal 284, 851-867.

126. van‘t Veer I, Leloup N, Egan AJF, Janssen B, Martin N, Vollmer W, Breukink E. 2016. Site specific immobilization of PBP1b on an SPR chip surface. ChemBioChem 17, 2250-2256.

125. Boll JM, Crofts AA, Peters K, Cattoir V, Vollmer W, Davies BW, Trent MS. 2016. A penicillin-binding protein inhibits selection of colistin-resistant, lipooligosaccharide-deficient Acinetobacter baumannii. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 113, E6228-E6237.

124. Ha R, Frirdich E, Sychantha D, Biboy J, Taveirne ME, DiRita VJ, Vollmer W, Clark AJ, Gaynor EC. 2016. Accumulation of peptidoglycan O-acetylation leads to altered cell wall biochemistry and negatively impacts pathogenesis factors of Campylobacter jejuni. Journal of Biological Chemistry 291, 22686-22702. [JBC "Highlight of 2016" in Microbiology]

123. Jutras BL, Scott M, Parry B, Biboy J, Gray J, Vollmer W, Jacobs-Wagner C. 2016. Lyme disease and relapsing fever Borrelia elongate through zones of peptidoglycan synthesis that mark division sites of daughter cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 113, 9162-9170.

122. Peters K, Kannan S, Rao VA, Biboy J, Vollmer D, Erickson SW, Lewis RJ, Young KD, Vollmer W. 2016. The redundancy of peptidoglycan carboxypeptidases ensures robust cell shape maintenance in Escherichia coli. MBio 7(3):e00819-16.

121. Cleverley RM, Rismondo J, Lockhart-Cairns MP, van Bentum, P, Egan AJF, Vollmer W, Halbedel S, Baldock C, Breukink E, Lewis RJ. 2016. Subunit arrangement in GpsB, a regulator of cell wall biosynthesis. Microbial Drug Resistance 22, 446-460.

120. Lambert C, Lerner TR, Bui NK, Somers H, Aizawa S-I, Liddell SE, Vollmer W, Clark A, Lovering AL, Sockett RE. 2016. Interrupting peptidoglycan deacetylation during Bdellovibrio predator-prey interaction prevents ultimate destruction of prey wall, liberating bacterial-ghosts. Scientific Reports 6:26010.

119. Egan AJF, Vollmer W. 2016. Continuous fluorescence assay for peptidoglycan glycosyltransferases. In: Bacterial Cell Wall Homeostasis: Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 1140, Delcour AH (Ed.), pp. 171-84.

118. Lambert C, Cadby IT, Till R, Bui NK, Lerner TR, Hughes WS, Lee DJ, Alderwick LJ, Vollmer W, Sockett RE, Lovering AL. 2015. Ankyrin-mediated self-protection during cell invasion by the bacterial predator Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. Nature Communications 6:8884.

117. Rico-Lastres P, Díez-Martínez R, Iglesias-Bexiga M, Bustamante N, Aldridge C, Hesek D, Lee M, Mobashery S, Gray J, Vollmer W, García P, Menéndez M. 2015. Substrate recognition and catalysis by LytB, a pneumococcal peptidoglycan hydrolase involved in virulence. Scientific Reports 5:16198.

116. Egan AJF, Biboy J, van't Veer I, Breukink E, Vollmer W. 2015. Activities and regulation of peptidoglycan synthases. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 370:20150031. Special Issue on the Bacterial Cell Envelope. Armitage J, Kleanthous C (Eds.).

115. Turapov O, Loraine J, Jenkins CH, Barthe P, McFeely D, Forti F, Ghisotti D, Hesek D, Lee M, Bottrill AR, Vollmer W, Mobashery S, Cohen-Gonsaud M, Mukamolova GV. 2015. The external PASTA domain of the essential serine/threonine protein kinase PknB regulates mycobacterial growth. Open Biology 5: 150025.

114. Vischer NOE, Verheul J, Postma M, van den Berg van Saparoea B, Galli E, Natale P, Gerdes K, Luirink J, Vollmer W, Vicente M, den Blaauwen T. 2015. Cell age dependent concentration of Escherichia coli divisome proteins analyzed with ImageJ and ObjectJ. Frontiers in Microbiology 6:586.

113. Todorova K, Maurer P, Rieger M, Becker T, Bui NK, Gray J, Vollmer W, Hakenbeck R. 2015. Transfer of penicillin resistance from Streptococcus oralis to Streptococcus pneumoniae identifies murE as resistance determinant. Molecular Microbiology 97, 866-880.

112. Gray AN#, Egan AJF#, van't Veer IL, Verheul J, Colavin A, Koumoutsi A, Biboy J, Altelaar MAF, Damen MJ, Huang KC, Simorre JP, Breukink E, den Blaauwen T*, Typas A*, Gross CA*, Vollmer W*. 2015. Coordination of peptidoglycan synthesis and outer membrane constriction during Escherichia coli cell division. eLife 4, e07118. [# contributed equally; * corresponding authors]

111. Egan AJF, Vollmer W. 2015. The stoichiometric divisome: A hypothesis. Frontiers in Microbiology 6:455.

110. Arnauteli S, Giastas P, Andreou A, Tzanodaskalaki M, Aldridge C, Vollmer W, Eliopoulos E, Bouriotis V. 2015. Two polysaccharide deacetylases are required for osmotic stability and cell shape maintenance in Bacillus anthracis. Journal of Biological Chemistry 290, 13465-13478.

109. Johnston C, Bootsma HJ, Aldridge C, Manuse S, Gisch N, Schwudke D, Hermans PWM, Grangeasse C, Polard P, Vollmer W, Claverys J-P. 2015. Co-inactivation of GlnR and CodY regulators impacts pneumococcal cell wall physiology. PLOS One 10(4):e0123702.

108. Gisch N, Peters K, Zähringer U, Vollmer W. 2015. The pneumococcal cell wall. In: Streptococcus pneumoniae: Molecular mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions. Brown JS, Hammerschmidt S, Orihuela CJ (Eds.), Elsevier, UK, pp. 145-167.

107. Hakenbeck R, de Pedro MA, Romeis T, Vollmer W. 2015. Joachim-Volker Höltje (1941 - 2014). Molecular Microbiology 95, 573–575.

106. Rismondo J, Möller L, Aldridge C, Gray J, Vollmer W, Halbedel S. 2015. Discrete and overlapping functions of peptidoglycan synthases in growth, cell division and virulence of Listeria monocytogenes. Molecular Microbiology 95, 332-351.

105. Connolly JPR, Goldstone RJ, Burgess K, Cogdell RJ, Beatson SA, Vollmer W, Smith DGE, Roe AJ. 2015. The host metabolite D-serine contributes to bacterial niche specificity through gene selection. The ISME Journal 9, 1039-1051.

104. Chou S, Daugherty MD, Peterson SB, Biboy J, Yang Y, Jutras BL, Fritz-Laylin LK, Ferrin MA, Harding BN, Jacobs-Wagner C, Yang XF, Vollmer W, Malik HS, Mougous JD. 2015. Transferred interbacterial antagonism genes augment eukaryotic innate immune function. Nature 518, 98-101. [Commentary: Tobin Kåhrström C. 2015. Nature Reviews Microbiology 13, 2–3]

103. Jean NL, Bougault CM, Egan AJF, Vollmer W, Simorre JP. 2015. Solution NMR assignment of LpoB, an outer-membrane anchored lipoprotein Penicillin-binding protein activator from Escherichia coli. Biomolecular NMR Assignments 9, 123-127.

102. Jean NL, Bougault CM, Derouaux A, Callens G, Vollmer W, Simorre J-P. 2015. Backbone and side-chain 1H, 13C, and 15N NMR assignments of the N-terminal domain of Escherichia coli LpoA. Biomolecular NMR Assignments 9, 65-69.

101. Cleverley RM, Barrett JR, Baslé A, Bui NK, Hewitt L, Solovyova A, Xu ZQ, Daniel RA, Dixon NE, Harry EJ, Oakley AJ, Vollmer W, Lewis RJ. 2014. Structure and function of EzrA, a spectrin-like regulator of bacterial cytokinesis. Nature Communications 5:5421.

100. Tomlinson G, Chimalapati S, Pollard T, Lapp T, Cohen J, Camberlein E, Stafford S, Periselneris J, Aldridge C, Vollmer W, Picard C, Casanova JL, Noursadeghi M, Brown J. 2014. TLR-mediated inflammatory responses to Streptococcus pneumoniae are highly dependent on surface expression of bacterial lipoproteins. Journal of Immunology 193, 3736-3745.

99. Klöckner A, Otten C, Derouaux A, Vollmer W, Bühl H, De Benedetti S, Münch D, Josten M, Mölleken K, Sahl H-G, Henrichfreise B. 2014. AmiA is a target enzyme of penicillin with dual activity in the intracellular pathogen Chlamydia pneumoniae. Nature Communications 5:4201.

98. Vollmer W. 2014. Peptidoglycan. In: Molecular Medical Microbiology (2nd Edition). Tang YW, Sussman M, Liu D, Poxton IR, Schwartzman JD, (Eds.), Elsevier, Waltham, USA. pp. 105-124.

97. Hoyland C, Aldridge C, Cleverley R, Duchene M, Minasov G, Onopriyenko O, Sidiq K, Stogios P, Anderson W, Daniel R, Savchenko A, Vollmer W, Lewis RJ. 2014. Structure of the LdcB LD-carboxypeptidase reveals the molecular basis of peptidoglycan recognition. Structure 22, 949-960. [Commentary: Cadby IT, Lovreing AL. 2014. Structure 22, 932-934]

96. Jean NL, Bougault CM, Lodge A, Derouaux A, Callens G, Egan AJF, Lewis RJ, Vollmer W*, Simorre J-P*. 2014. Elongated structure of the outer-membrane activator of peptidoglycan synthesis LpoA: Implications for PBP1A-stimulation. Structure 22, 1047-1054. [* corresponding authors]

95. Egan AJF#, Jean NL#, Koumoutsi A#, Bougault CM, Biboy J, Sassine J, Solovyova AS, Breukink E, Typas A*, Vollmer W*, Simorre JP*. 2014. Outer-membrane lipoprotein LpoB spans the periplasm to stimulate the peptidoglycan synthase PBP1B. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 111, 8197–8202. [# Contributed equally; * corresponding authors]

94. Turner RD, Vollmer W, Foster SJ. 2014. Different walls for rods and balls: The diversity of peptidoglycan. Molecular Microbiology 91, 862-874.

93. Frirdich E, Vermeulen J, Biboy J, Soares F, Taveirne ME, Johnson JG, DiRita VJ, Girardin SE, Vollmer W, Gaynor EC. 2014. Peptidoglycan LD-carboxypeptidase Pgp2 influences Campylobacter jejuni helical cell shape and pathogenic properties, and provides the substrate for the DL-carboxypeptidase Pgp1. Journal of Biological Chemistry 289, 8007-8018.

92. Pilhofer M, Aistleitner K, Biboy J, Gray J, Kuru E, Hall E, Brun Y, VanNieuwenhze M, Vollmer W, Horn M, Jensen G. 2013. Discovery of chlamydial peptidoglycan reveals bacteria with murein sacculi but without FtsZ. Nature Communications 4:2856. [Research Highlight: Kåhrström CT. 2014. Nature Reviews Microbiology 12, 76]

91. Bernhardt TG, Vollmer W. 2013. Mechanisms of bacterial morphogenesis and their subversion by phages. Current Opinion in Microbiology 16, 728-730. [Editorial Commentary on the themed issue "Growth and development: prokaryotes"]

90. Sycuro LK, Rule, CS, Petersen TW, Wyckoff TJ, Sessler T, Nagarkar DB, Khalid F, Pincus Z, Biboy J, Vollmer W, Salama NR. 2013. Flow cytometry-based enrichment for cell shape mutants identifies multiple genes that influence Helicobacter pylori morphology. Molecular Microbiology 90, 869–883.

89. Srikannathasan V, English G, Bui NK, Trunk K, O’Rourke PEF, Rao VA, Vollmer W, Coulthurst SJ, Hunter WN. 2013. Structural basis for Type VI secreted peptidoglycan DL-endopeptidase function, specificity and neutralization in Serratia marcescens. Acta Crystallographica Section D: Biological Crystallography 69, 2468-2482.

88. Whitney JC, Chou S, Russell AB, Biboy J, Gardiner TE, Ferrin MA, Brittnacher M, Vollmer W, Mougous JD. 2013. Identification, structure and function of a novel type VI secretion peptidoglycan glycoside hydrolase effector–immunity pair. Journal of Biological Chemistry 288, 26616-26624.

87. Massidda O, Nováková L, Vollmer W. 2013. From models to pathogens: how much have we learned about Streptococcus pneumoniae cell division? Environmental Microbiology 15, 3133-3157.

86. Derouaux A, Terrak M, den Blaauwen T, Vollmer W. 2013. Bacterial cell wall growth, shape and division. In: Bacterial Membranes: Structural and Molecular Biology. Remaut H, Fronzes R (Eds.), Horizon Scientific Press and Caister Academic Press, Norwich, UK. pp. 3-54.

85. Shin JY, Vollmer W, Lagos R, Monasterio O. 2013. Glutamate 83 and arginine 85 of helix H3 bend are key residues for FtsZ polymerization, GTPase activity and cellular viability of Escherichia coli: lateral mutations affect FtsZ polymerization and E. coli viability. BMC Microbiology 13:26.

84. Takacs CN, Hocking J, Cabeen MT, Bui NK, Poggio S, Vollmer W, Jacobs-Wagner C. 2013. Growth medium-dependent glycine incorporation into the peptidoglycan of Caulobacter crescentus. PLOS One 8(2): e57579. 

83. van der Ploeg R, Verheul J, Vischer NOE, Alexeeva S, Hoogendoorn E, Postma M, Banzhaf M, Vollmer W, den Blaauwen T. 2013. Colocalization and interaction between elongasome and divisome during a preparative cell division phase in Escherichia coli. Molecular Microbiology 87, 1074-1087. 

82. Biboy J, Bui NK, Vollmer W. 2013. In vitro peptidoglycan synthesis assay with lipid II substrate. In: Bacterial Cell Surfaces: Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 966, Delcour AH (Ed.), pp. 273-288.

81. Egan A, Vollmer W. 2013. The physiology of bacterial cell division. In: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1277, issue "Antimicrobial Therapeutics Reviews". Bush K (Ed.), The New York Academy of Sciences, pp. 8-28.

80. Vollmer W. 2012. Murein peptide amidase MpaA. In: Handbook of Proteolytic Enzymes 3rd Edition, Rawlings N, Salvesen G (Eds.), Elsevier, Oxford, UK. pp. 1387-1389. 

79. Vollmer W. 2012. Bacterial growth does require peptidoglycan hydrolases. Molecular Microbiology 86, 1031-1035. [Commentary on: Singh et al. 2012. Molecular Microbiology 86, 1036-1051]

78. Chou S, Bui NK, Russell AB, Lexa K, LeRoux M, Vollmer W*, Mougous JD*. 2012. Structure of a peptidoglycan amidase effector targeted to Gram-negative bacteria by the type VI secretion system. Cell Reports 1, 656-664. [* corresponding authors]

77. Banzhaf M, van den Berg van Saparoea B, Terrak M, Fraipont C, Egan A, Philippe J, Zapun A, Breukink E, Nguyen-Distèche M, den Blaauwen T, Vollmer W. 2012. Cooperativity of peptidoglycan synthases active in bacterial cell elongation. Molecular Microbiology 85, 179-194.

76. Hocking J, Priyadarchini R, Takacs CN, Costa T, Dye NA, Shapiro L, Vollmer W, Jacobs-Wagner C. 2012. Osmolality-dependent relocation of penicillin-binding protein PBP2 to the division machinery in Caulobacter crescentus. Journal of Bacteriology 194, 3116-3127.

75. Russell AB, Singh P, Brittnacher M, Bui NK, Hood RD, Carl MA, Agnello DM, Schwarz S, Goodlett DR, Vollmer W, Mougous JD. 2012. A widespread bacterial type VI secretion effector superfamily identified using a heuristic approach. Cell Host & Microbe 11, 538-549. 

74. Helassa N, Breukink E, Vollmer W, Vernet T, Zapun A. 2012. The membrane anchor of penicillin-binding protein PBP2a from Streptococcus pneumoniae influences peptidoglycan chain length. FEBS Journal 279, 2071-2081.

73. Denapaite D, Brückner R, Hakenbeck R, Vollmer W. 2012. Biosynthesis of teichoic acids in Streptococcus pneumoniae and closely related species: lessons from genomes. Microbial Drug Resistance 18, 344-358.

72. Eberhardt A, Hoyland CN, Vollmer D, Bisle S, Cleverley RM, Johnsborg O, Håvarstein LS, Lewis RJ, Vollmer W. 2012. Attachment of capsular polysaccharide to the cell wall in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Microbial Drug Resistance 18, 240-255.

71. Osborne SE, Tuinema BR, Mok MCY, Lau PS, Bui NK,Tomljenovic-Berube AM, Vollmer W, Zhang K, Junop M, Coombes BK. 2012. Characterization of DalS, an ATP-binding Cassette Transporter for D-alanine, and its role in pathogenesis in Salmonella enterica. Journal of Biological Chemistry 287, 15242-15250.

70. Frirdich E, Biboy J, Adams C, Lee J, Ellermeier J, Davis Gielda L, DiRita VJ, Girardin SE, Vollmer W, Gaynor EC. 2012. Peptidoglycan-modifying enzyme Pgp1 is required for helical cell shape and pathogenicity traits in Campylobacter jejuni. PLOS Pathogens 8(3): e1002602.

69. Sycuro LK, Wyckoff TJ, Biboy J, Born P, Pincus Z, Vollmer W, Salama NR. 2012. Multiple peptidoglycan modification networks modulate Helicobacter pylori’s cell shape, motility, and colonization potential. PLOS Pathogens 8(3): e1002603. 

68. Lerner TR, Lovering AL, Bui NK, Uchida K, Aizawa S-I, Vollmer W, Sockett RE. 2012. Specialized peptidoglycan hydrolases sculpt the intra-bacterial niche of predatory Bdellovibrio and increase population fitness. 2012. PLOS Pathogens 8(2): e1002524. 

67. Figueiredo TA, Sobral RG, Ludovice AM, de Almeida JMF, Bui NK, Vollmer W, de Lencastre H, Tomasz A. 2012. Identification of genetic determinants and enzymes involved with the amidation of glutamic acid residues in the peptidoglycan of Staphylococcus aureus. PLOS Pathogens 8(1): e1002508.

66. Typas A, Banzhaf M, Gross CA, Vollmer W. 2012. From the regulation of peptidoglycan synthesis to bacterial growth and morphology. Nature Reviews Microbiology 10, 123-136.

65. Vollmer W. 2012. Bacterial outer membrane evolution via sporulation? Nature Chemical Biology 8, 14-18. [Commentary on: Tocheva EI et al. 2011. Cell 146, 799-812]

64. Bui NK, Eberhardt A, Vollmer D, Kern T, Bougault C, Tomasz A, Simorre J-P, Vollmer W. 2012. Isolation and analysis of cell wall components from Streptococcus pneumoniae. Analytical Biochemistry 421, 657-666.

63. Kawai Y, Marles-Wright J, Cleverly RM, Emmins R, Ishikawa S, Kuwano M, Heinz N, Bui NK, Hoyland CN, Ogasawara N, Lewis RJ, Vollmer W, Daniel RA, Errington J. 2011. A widespread family of bacterial cell wall assembly proteins. EMBO Journal 30, 4931-4941. [Research Highlight: Molloy S. 2011. Nature Reviews Microbiology 9, 768]

62. Russell AB, Hood RD, Bui NK, LeRoux M, Vollmer W, Mougous JD. 2011. Type VI secretion delivers bacteriolytic effectors to target cells. Nature 475, 343-347. [Commentary: Cotter P. 2011. Nature 475, 301-303; Research Highlight: Huddleston JE. 2011. Nature Reviews Microbiology 9, 630]

61. Schäberle T, Vollmer W, Frasch H-J, Hüttel S, Kulik A, Röttgen M, von Thaler AK, Wohlleben W, Stegmann E. 2011. Self-resistance and cell wall composition in the glycopeptide producer Amycolatopsis balhimycina. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 55, 4283-4289.

60. Bisicchia P, Bui NK, Aldridge C, Vollmer W, Devine KM. 2011. Acquisition of VanB-type vancomycin resistance by Bacillus subtilis: the impact on gene expression, cell wall composition and morphology. Molecular Microbiology 81, 157-178.

59. Bui NK, Turk S, Buckenmaier S, Stevenson-Jones F, Zeuch B, Gobec S, Vollmer W. 2011. Development of screening assays and discovery of initial inhibitors of pneumococcal peptidoglycan deacetylase PgdA. Biochemical Pharmacology 82, 43-52.

58. Olrichs NK, Aarsman MEG, Verheul J, Arnusch CJ, Martin NI, Hervé M, Vollmer W, de Kruijff B, Breukink E, den Blaauwen T. 2011. A novel in vivo cell wall labeling approach sheds new light on peptidoglycan synthesis in Escherichia coli. ChemBioChem 12, 1124-1133.

57. Typas A#*, Banzhaf M#, van den Berg van Saparoea B, Verheul J, Biboy J, Nichols RJ, Zietek M, Beilharz K, Kannenberg K, von Rechenberg M, Breukink B, den Blaauwen T, Gross CA, Vollmer W*. 2010. Regulation of peptidoglycan synthesis by outer-membrane proteins. Cell 143, 1097-1109. [# Contributed equally; * corresponding authors; commentary: Young KD. 2010. Cell 143, 1042-1044.]

56. Kern T, Giffard M, Hediger S, Amoroso A, Giustini C, Bui NK, Joris B, Bougault C, Vollmer W, Simorre J-P. 2010. Dynamics characterization of fully hydrated bacterial cell walls by solid-state NMR: evidence for cooperative binding of metal ions. Journal of the American Chemical Society 132, 10911-10919.

55. Potluri L, Karczmarek A, Verheul J, Piette A, Wilkin J-M, Werth N, Banzhaf M, Vollmer W, Young KD, Nguyen-Distèche M, den Blaauwen T. 2010. Septal and lateral wall localization of PBP5, the major D,D-carboxypeptidase of Escherichia coli, requires substrate recognition and membrane attachment. Molecular Microbiology 77, 300-323.

54. Poggio S, Takacs CN, Vollmer W, Jacobs-Wagner C. 2010. A protein critical for cell constriction in the Gram-negative bacterium Caulobacter crescentus localizes at the division site through its peptidoglycan-binding LysM domains. Molecular Microbiology 77, 74-89. [Commentary: Collier J. 2010. Molecular Microbiology 77, 11-14.]

53. Cabeen MT, Murolo MA, Briegel A, Bui NK, Vollmer W, Ausmees N, Jensen GJ, Jacobs-Wagner C. 2010. Mutations in the lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis pathway interfere with crescentin-mediated cell curvature in Caulobacter crescentus. Journal of Bacteriology 192, 3368-3378.

52. Sycuro LK, Pincus Z, Gutierrez KD, Biboy J, Stern CA, Vollmer W, Salama NR. 2010. Peptidoglycan crosslinking relaxation promotes Helicobacter pylori’s helical shape and stomach colonization. Cell 141, 822-833. [Commentary: Dworkin J. 2010. Molecular Microbiology 78, 792-795.]

51. Pérez-Dorado I, González A, Morales M, Sanles R, Hidalgo A, Striker W, Vollmer W, Mobashery S, García JL, Martínez-Ripoll M, García P, Hermoso JA. 2010. Insights into pneumococcal fratricide from crystal structure of the modular killing factor LytC. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 17, 576-582.

50. Takacs CN, Poggio S, Charbon G, Pucheault M, Crews C, Vollmer W, Jacobs-Wagner C. 2010. MreB drives de novo rod morphogenesis in Caulobacter crescentus via remodeling of the cell wall. Journal of Bacteriology 192, 1671-1684.

49. Vollmer W, Seligman SJ. 2010. Architecture of peptidoglycan: more data and more models. Trends in Microbiology 18, 59-66.

48. Eberhardt A, Wu LJ, Errington J, Vollmer W*, Veening J-W*. 2009. Cellular localization of choline-utilization proteins in Streptococcus pneumoniae using novel fluorescent reporter systems. Molecular Microbiology 74, 395-408. [* corresponding authors]

47. Gehre F, Spisek R, Kharat AS, Matthews P, Kukreja A, Anthony RM, Dhodapkar MV, Vollmer W, Tomasz A. 2009. The role of teichoic acid choline moieties in the virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Infection and Immunity 77, 2824-2831.

46. Cabeen MT, Charbon G, Vollmer W, Born P, Ausmees N, Weibel DB, Jacobs-Wagner C. 2009. Bacterial cell curvature through mechanical control of cell growth. EMBO Journal 28, 1208-1219. [Commentary: de Boer PA. 2009. EMBO Journal 28,1193-1194.]

45. Vollmer W. 2009. Murein: Das dynamische Exoskelett der Bakterien. BIOspektrum 15, 248-251.

44. Guo YL, Mayer H, Vollmer W, Dittrich D, Sander P, Schultz A, Schultz JE. 2009. Polyphosphates from Mycobacterium bovis - potent inhibitors of class III adenylyl cyclases. FEBS Journal 276, 1094-1103.

43. Baur S, Marles-Wright J, Buckenmaier S, Lewis RJ, Vollmer W. 2009. Synthesis of CDP-activated ribitol for teichoic acid precursors in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Journal of Bacteriology 191, 1200-1210.

42. Bui NK, Gray J, Schwarz H, Schumann P, Blanot D, Vollmer W. 2009. The peptidoglycan sacculus of Myxococcus xanthus has unusual structural features and is degraded during glycerol-induced myxospore development. Journal of Bacteriology 191, 494-505.

41. Vollmer W, Born P. 2009. Bacterial cell envelope peptidoglycan. In: Microbial Glycobiology. Moran A, Holst O, Brennan P, von Itzstein M (Eds.) Elsevier, San Diego, USA. pp. 15-28.

40. Fittipaldi N, Sekizaki T, Takamatsu D, de la Cruz Domínguez-Punaro M, Harel J, Bui NK, Vollmer W, Gottschalk M. 2008. Significant contribution of the pgdA gene to the virulence of Streptococcus suis. Molecular Microbiology 70, 1120-1135.

39. Kharat A, Denapaite D, Gehre F, Brückner R, Vollmer W, Hakenbeck R, Tomasz A. 2008. Different pathways of choline metabolism in two choline-independent strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae and their impact on virulence. Journal of Bacteriology 190, 5907-5914.

38. Kern T, Hediger S, Mϋller P, Giustini C, Joris B, Bougault C, Vollmer W, Simorre J-P. 2008. Towards the characterization of peptidoglycan structure and protein – peptidoglycan interactions by solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Journal of the American Chemical Society 130, 5618-5619.

37. Vollmer W. 2008. Targeting the bacterial Z-ring. Chemistry & Biology 15, 93-94.

36. Vollmer W, Joris B, Charlier P, Foster S. 2008. Peptidoglycan (murein) hydrolases. FEMS Microbiology Reviews 32, 259-286.

35. Vollmer W. 2008. Structural variation in the glycan strands of bacterial peptidoglycan. FEMS Microbiology Reviews 32, 287-306.

34. Vollmer W, Blanot D, de Pedro MA. 2008. Peptidoglycan structure and architecture. FEMS Microbiology Reviews 32, 149-167.

33. Vollmer W, Bertsche U. 2008. Murein (peptidoglycan) structure, architecture and biosynthesis in Escherichia coli. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1778, 1714-1734.

32. Müller P, Ewers C, Bertsche U, Anstett M, Kallis T, Breukink E, Fraipont C, Terrak M, Nguyen-Distèche M, Vollmer W. 2007. The essential cell division protein FtsN interacts with the murein (peptidoglycan) synthase PBP1B in Escherichia coli. Journal of Biological Chemistry 282, 36394-36402.

31. Damjanovic M, Kharat A, Eberhardt A, Tomasz A, Vollmer W. 2007. The essential tacF gene is responsible for the choline-dependent growth phenotype of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Journal of Bacteriology 189, 7105-7111.

30. Aaron M, Charbon G, Lam H, Schwarz H, Vollmer W*, Jacobs-Wagner C*. 2007. The tubulin homologue FtsZ contributes to cell elongation by guiding cell wall precursor synthesis in Caulobacter crescentus. Molecular Microbiology 64, 938-952. [* corresponding authors; commentary: Scheffers DJ. 2007. Molecular Microbiology 64, 877-880.]

29. Vollmer W. 2007. Preparation and analysis of pneumococcal murein (peptidoglycan). In: Molecular Biology of Streptococci. Hakenbeck R, Chhatwal S (Eds.), Horizon Scientific Press, Norfolk, UK, 531-535.

28. Vollmer W. 2007. Structure and biosynthesis of the pneumococcal cell wall. In: Molecular Biology of Streptococci. Hakenbeck R, Chhatwal S (Eds.), Horizon Scientific Press, Norfolk, UK, pp. 83-117.

27. Vollmer W. 2006. Structure and biosynthesis of the murein (peptidoglycan) sacculus. In: The periplasm. Ehrmann M (Ed.), ASM Press, Washington, USA, pp. 198-213.

26. Vollmer W. 2006. The prokaryotic cytoskeleton: A putative target for inhibitors and antibiotics? Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 73, 37-47.

25. Crisóstomo MI, Vollmer W, Kharat A, Inhülsen S, Gehre F, Buckenmaier S, Tomasz A. 2006. Attenuation of penicillin resistance in a peptidoglycan O-acetyl transferase mutant of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Molecular Microbiology 61, 1497-1509.

24. Born P, Breukink E, Vollmer W. 2006. In vitro synthesis of cross-linked murein (peptidoglycan) and its attachment to sacculi by PBP1A from Escherichia coli. Journal of Biological Chemistry 281, 26985-26993.

23. Kovacs M, Halfmann A, Fedtke I, Heintz M, Peschel A, Vollmer W, Hakenbeck R, Brückner R. 2006. A functional dlt operon, encoding proteins required for incorporation of D-alanine in teichoic acids in gram-positive bacteria, confers resistance to cationic antimicrobial peptides in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Journal of Bacteriology 188, 5797-5805. 

22. Bertsche U, Kast T, Fraipont C, Wolf B, Aarsman MEG, Kannenberg K, von Rechenberg M, Nguyen-Distèche M, den Blaauwen T, Höltje J-V, Vollmer W. 2006. Interaction between two murein (peptidoglycan) synthases, PBP3 and PBP1B, in Escherichia coli. Molecular Microbiology 61, 675-690.

21. Vollmer W. 2006. Cytoskeletal elements in prokaryotes. In: Microbiology Monographs, Volume 2: Complex Intracellular Structures in Prokaryotes. Shively J (Ed.), Springer, Heidelberg, pp. 305-311.

20. Bertsche U, Breukink E, Kast T, Vollmer W. 2005. In vitro murein (peptidoglycan) synthesis by dimers of the bifunctional transglycosylase-transpeptidase PBP1B from Escherichia coli. Journal of Biological Chemistry 280, 38096-38101.

19. van Straaten KE, Dijkstra BW, Vollmer W, Thunnissen A-MWH. 2005. Crystal structure of MltA from Escherichia coli reveals a unique lytic transglycosylase fold. Journal of Molecular Biology 352, 1068-1080.

18. Korsak D, Vollmer W, Markiewicz Z. 2005. Listeria monocytogenes EGD lacking penicillin-binding protein 5 (PBP5) produces a thicker cell wall. FEMS Microbiology Letters 251, 281-288.

17. Korsak D, Liebscher S, Vollmer W. 2005. Susceptibility to antibiotics and ß-lactamase induction in murein hydrolase mutants of Escherichia coli. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 49, 1404-1409.

16. Bera A, Herbert S, Jakob A, Vollmer W, Götz F. 2005. Why are pathogenic staphylococci so lysozyme resistant? The peptidoglycan O-acetyltransferase OatA is the major determinant for lysozyme resistance of Staphylococcus aureus. Molecular Microbiology 55, 778-787.

15. Ursinus A, van den Ent F, Löwe J, de Pedro MA, Höltje J-V, Vollmer W. 2004. Murein (peptidoglycan) binding property of the essential cell division protein FtsN from Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology 186, 6728-6737.

14. Vollmer W, Höltje J-V. 2004. The architecture of murein (peptidoglycan) in Gram-negative bacteria: vertical scaffold or horizontal layer(s)? Journal of Bacteriology 186, 5978-5987.

13. Meisel U, Höltje J-V, Vollmer W. 2003. Overproduction of inactive variants of the murein synthase PBP1B causes lysis in Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology 185, 5342-5348.

12. Vollmer W, Tomasz A. 2002. Peptidoglycan N-acetylglucosamine deacetylase (PgdA) - a putative virulence factor in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Infection and Immunity 70, 7176-7178.

11. Heidrich C, Vollmer W. 2002. Murein (Peptidoglycan). In: Biopolymers. Volume 5: Polysacccharides I. Steinbuechel A (Ed.), Wiley-VHC, Weinheim, pp. 431-463.

10. Vollmer W, Höltje J-V. 2001. Morphogenesis of Escherichia coli. Current Opinion in Microbiology 4, 625-633.

9. von Rechenberg M, Vollmer W, Höltje J-V. 2001. A multienzyme complex involved in murein synthesis of Escherichia coli. In: Microbial Fundamentals of Biotechnology, Braun V, Götz F (Eds.), Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, pp. 249-262.

8. Vollmer W, Tomasz A. 2001. Identification of the teichoic acid phosphorylcholine esterase in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Molecular Microbiology 39, 1610-1622.

7. Vollmer W, Tomasz A. 2000. The pgdA gene encodes for a peptidoglycan N-acetylglucosamine deacetylase in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Journal of Biological Chemistry 275, 20496-20501.

6. Vollmer W, Höltje J-V. 2000. A simple screen for murein transglycosylase inhibitors. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 44, 1181-1185.

5. Vollmer W, von Rechenberg M, Höltje J-V. 1999. Demonstration of molecular interactions between the murein polymerase PBP1B, the lytic transglycosylase MltA, and the scaffolding protein MipA of Escherichia coli. Journal of Biological Chemistry 274, 6726-6734.

4. Höltje J-V, Schiffer G, Vollmer W, von Rechenberg M. 1998. Growth of the bacterial sacculus requires both polymerization and depolymerization of murein. In: Biochemical Principles and Mechanisms of Biosynthesis and Biodegradation of Polymers, Proceedings of an International Symposium held at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Germany, June 3-6, 1998, Steinbüchel A (Ed.), Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, pp. 68-76.

3. Lommatzsch J, Templin MF, Kraft AR, Vollmer W, Höltje J-V. 1997. Outer membrane localization of murein hydrolases: MltA, a third lipoprotein lytic transglycosylase in Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology 179, 5465-5470.

2. Vollmer W, Pilsl H, Hantke K, Höltje J-V, Braun V. 1997. Pesticin displays muramidase activity. Journal of Bacteriology 179, 1580-1583.

1. Romeis T, Vollmer W, Höltje J-V. 1993. Characterization of three different lytic transglycosylases in Escherichia coli. FEMS Microbiology Letters 111, 141-146.