A plant MinD homologue rescues Escherichia coli HL1 mutant (DeltaMinDE) in the absence of MinE.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In E. coli, the Min operon (MinCDE) plays a key role in determining the site of cell division. MinE oscillates from the middle to one pole or another to drive the MinCD complex to the end of the cell. The MinCD complex prevents FtsZ ring formation and the subsequent cell division at cell ends. In Arabidopsis thaliana, a homologue of MinD has been shown to be involved in the positioning of chloroplast division site.

Results

To learn whether the MinD homologue in plants is functional in bacteria, AtMinD was expressed in E. coli. Surprisingly, AtMinD can rescue the minicell phenotype of E. coli HL1 mutant (DeltaMinDE) in the absence of EcMinE. This rescue requires EcMinC. AtMinD was localized to puncta at the poles of E. coli cells and puncta in chloroplasts without

SUBMITTER: Zhang M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2691406 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature