MapZ marks the division sites and positions FtsZ rings in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

ABSTRACT: In every living organism, cell division requires accurate identification of the division site and placement of the division machinery. In bacteria, this process is traditionally considered to begin with the polymerization of the highly conserved tubulin-like protein FtsZ into a ring that locates precisely at mid-cell. Over the past decades, several systems have been reported to regulate the spatiotemporal assembly and placement of the FtsZ ring. However, the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae, in common with many other organisms, is devoid of these canonical systems and the mechanisms of positioning the division machinery remain unknown. Here we characterize a novel factor that locates at the division site before FtsZ and guides septum positioning in pneumococcus. Mid-cell-anchored pr

SUBMITTER: Fleurie A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4268495 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature