Self-Organization of FtsZ Polymers in Solution Reveals Spacer Role of the Disordered C-Terminal Tail.

ABSTRACT: FtsZ is a self-assembling GTPase that forms, below the inner membrane, the mid-cell Z-ring guiding bacterial division. FtsZ monomers polymerize head to tail forming tubulin-like dynamic protofilaments, whose organization in the Z-ring is an unresolved problem. Rather than forming a well-defined structure, FtsZ protofilaments laterally associate in vitro into polymorphic condensates typically imaged on surfaces. We describe here nanoscale self-organizing properties of FtsZ assemblies in solution that underlie Z-ring assembly, employing time-resolved x-ray scattering and cryo-electron microscopy. We find that FtsZ forms bundles made of loosely bound filaments of variable length and curvature. Individual FtsZ protofilaments further bend upon nucleotide hydrolysis, highlighted by the observati

SUBMITTER: Huecas S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5647624 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature