CcrZ is a pneumococcal spatiotemporal cell cycle regulator that interacts with FtsZ and controls DNA replication by modulating the activity of DnaA.

ABSTRACT: Most bacteria replicate and segregate their DNA concomitantly while growing, before cell division takes place. How bacteria synchronize these different cell cycle events to ensure faithful chromosome inheritance by daughter cells is poorly understood. Here, we identify Cell Cycle Regulator protein interacting with FtsZ (CcrZ) as a conserved and essential protein in pneumococci and related Firmicutes such as Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. CcrZ couples cell division with DNA replication by controlling the activity of the master initiator of DNA replication, DnaA. The absence of CcrZ causes mis-timed and reduced initiation of DNA replication, which subsequently results in aberrant cell division. We show that CcrZ from Streptococcus pneumoniae interacts directly with the cytoskel

SUBMITTER: Gallay C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8387234 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature