Perception and protection: The role of Bce-modules in antimicrobial peptide resistance.

Continual synthesis and remodeling of the peptidoglycan layer surrounding Gram-positive cells is essential for their survival. Diverse antimicrobial peptides target the lipid intermediates involved in this process. To sense and counteract assault from antimicrobial peptides, low G + C content gram-positive bacteria (Firmicutes) have evolved membrane protein complexes known as Bce-modules. These complexes consist minimally of an ABC transporter and a two-component system that work in tandem to perceive and confer resistance against antimicrobial peptides. In this mini-review I highlight recent breakthroughs in comprehending the structure and function of these unusual membrane protein complexes, with a particular focus on the BceAB-RS system present in Bacillus subtilis.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Benjamin J. Orlando reports financial support was provided by National Institutes of Health. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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