cellwallassociated

Cellwallassociated is a descriptor used for molecules that are localized to, or anchored in, the cell wall of an organism. The term is applied across biological domains, including bacteria, fungi, and plants, to refer to proteins, glycoproteins, enzymes, or other molecules that function in relation to the cell wall itself or that remain bound to it. In bacteria, cellwallassociated proteins (CWAs) frequently participate in adhesion, nutrient acquisition, structural maintenance, or immune evasion, and can act as virulence factors. In Gram-positive species, many CWAs carry LPXTG-type motifs and are covalently anchored to the peptidoglycan by sortase enzymes; in Gram-negative species, association with the wall often occurs via non-covalent interactions or through outer-membrane– or periplasmic–linked domains.

In fungi, cell wall proteins are often anchored to the wall via glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors and contribute to wall integrity and environmental interactions. In plants, cell wall–associated components include receptor-like kinases and other glycoproteins that participate in signaling, cell expansion, and defense responses.

Researchers identify CWAs through cell wall fractionation, proteomics, localization studies, and bioinformatic motifs. The term is sometimes written as cell-wall-associated in formal writing, whereas some annotations use the concatenated form cellwallassociated. Understanding CWAs aids in studying microbial pathogenesis, host–pathogen interactions, and plant biology.