Wall teichoic acids plug nanopores in B acillus subtilis cell wall and regulate peptidoglycan synthesis

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 09 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02400-9 In Bacillus subtilis, wall teichoic acids sustain rod shape by filling nanoscale pores in the cell wall. The presence of wall teichoic acids limits the activity of PBP1, a cell wall synthase that promotes isotropic (omnidirectional) growth, thereby maintaining the balance between circumferentially directed and isotropic peptidoglycan synthesis that confers rod shape.