CbtA toxin of Escherichia coli inhibits cell division and cell elongation via direct and independent interactions with FtsZ and MreB.

ABSTRACT: The toxin components of toxin-antitoxin modules, found in bacterial plasmids, phages, and chromosomes, typically target a single macromolecule to interfere with an essential cellular process. An apparent exception is the chromosomally encoded toxin component of the E. coli CbtA/CbeA toxin-antitoxin module, which can inhibit both cell division and cell elongation. A small protein of only 124 amino acids, CbtA, was previously proposed to interact with both FtsZ, a tubulin homolog that is essential for cell division, and MreB, an actin homolog that is essential for cell elongation. However, whether or not the toxic effects of CbtA are due to direct interactions with these predicted targets is not known. Here, we genetically separate the effects of CbtA on cell elongation and cell division, sh

SUBMITTER: Heller DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5624674 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature