Analysis of lipoprotein transport depletion in Vibrio cholerae using CRISPRi

was particularly vulnerable to lethal inhibition of the system for lipoprotein transport (Lol), a central hub for directing lipoproteins from the inner to the outer membrane (OM), with many of these lipoproteins coordinating their own essential processes. Lol depletion makes cells prone to plasmolysis and elaborate membrane reorganization, during which the periplasm extrudes into a mega outer membrane vesicle or "MOMV" encased by OM which dynamically emerges specifically at plasmolysis sites. Our work identifies the Lol system as an ideal drug target, whose inhibition could deplete gram-negative bacteria of numerous proteins that reside in the periplasm.