The structure of FtsZ filaments in vivo suggests a force-generating role in cell division.

ABSTRACT: In prokaryotes, FtsZ (the filamentous temperature sensitive protein Z) is a nearly ubiquitous GTPase that localizes in a ring at the leading edge of constricting plasma membranes during cell division. Here we report electron cryotomographic reconstructions of dividing Caulobacter crescentus cells wherein individual arc-like filaments were resolved just underneath the inner membrane at constriction sites. The filaments' position, orientation, time of appearance, and resistance to A22 all suggested that they were FtsZ. Predictable changes in the number, length, and distribution of filaments in cells where the expression levels and stability of FtsZ were altered supported that conclusion. In contrast to the thick, closed-ring-like structure suggested by fluorescence light microscopy, througho

SUBMITTER: Li Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2080809 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature