Z-Ring-Associated Proteins Regulate Clustering of the Replication Terminus-Binding Protein ZapT in Caulobacter crescentus.

ABSTRACT: Regulated organization of the chromosome is essential for faithful propagation of genetic information. In the model bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, the replication terminus of the chromosome is spatially arranged in close proximity to the cytokinetic Z-ring during the cell cycle. Although the Z-ring-associated proteins ZapA and ZauP interact with the terminus recognition protein ZapT, the molecular functions of the complex that physically links the terminus and the Z-ring remain obscure. In this study, we found that the physical linkage helps to organize the terminus DNA into a clustered structure. Neither ZapA nor ZauP was required for ZapT binding to the terminus DNA, but clustering of the ZapT-DNA complexes over the Z-ring was severely compromised in cells lacking ZapA or ZauP.

SUBMITTER: Ozaki S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7858052 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature