A role for the FtsQLB complex in cytokinetic ring activation revealed by an ftsL allele that accelerates division.

ABSTRACT: The cytokinetic apparatus of bacteria is initially formed by the polymerization of the tubulin-like FtsZ protein into a ring structure at midcell. This so-called Z-ring facilitates the recruitment of many additional proteins to the division site to form the mature divisome machine. Although the assembly pathway leading to divisome formation has been well characterized, the mechanisms that trigger cell constriction remain unclear. In this report, we study a 'forgotten' allele of ftsL from Escherichia coli, which encodes a conserved division gene of unknown function. We discovered that this allele promotes the premature initiation of cell division. Further analysis also revealed that the mutant bypasses the requirement for the essential division proteins ZipA, FtsK and FtsN, and partially by

SUBMITTER: Tsang MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4414402 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature