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ABSTRACT Work over the past decade has highlighted the pivotal role of the actin-like MreB family of proteins in the determination and maintenance of rod cell shape in bacteria. Early images

of MreB localization revealed long helical filaments, which were suggestive of a direct role in governing cell wall architecture. However, several more recent, higher-resolution studies

have questioned the existence or importance of the helical structures. In this Opinion article, I navigate a path through these conflicting reports, revive the helix model and summarize the

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subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS CYTOSKELETAL COMPONENTS CAN TURN WALL-LESS SPHERICAL BACTERIA INTO KINKING HELICES Article

Open access 14 November 2022 SELF-ASSOCIATION OF MREC AS A REGULATORY SIGNAL IN BACTERIAL CELL WALL ELONGATION Article Open access 20 May 2021 CELL WALL SYNTHESIS AND REMODELLING DYNAMICS

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Bacterial peptidoglycan (murein) hydrolases. _FEMS Microbiol. Rev._ 32, 259–286 (2008). Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar  Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Work on cell wall synthesis

in the Errington laboratory is supported by grant BB/G015902/1 from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The author thanks W. Vollmer, L. J. Wu and K. Gerdes for

helpful discussions and comments on the manuscript. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Jeff Errington is at the Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Medical Faculty, Newcastle

University, Richardson Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE2 4AX, UK., Jeff Errington Authors * Jeff Errington View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Jeff Errington. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The author declares no competing financial interests. POWERPOINT SLIDES POWERPOINT SLIDE FOR

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Bacterial morphogenesis and the enigmatic MreB helix. _Nat Rev Microbiol_ 13, 241–248 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro3398 Download citation * Published: 12 January 2015 * Issue

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