SepN is a septal junction component required for gated cell-cell communication in the filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc.

ABSTRACT: Multicellular organisms require controlled intercellular communication for their survival. Strains of the filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc regulate cell-cell communication between sister cells via a conformational change in septal junctions. These multi-protein cell junctions consist of a septum spanning tube with a membrane-embedded plug at both ends, and a cap covering the plug on the cytoplasmic side. The identities of septal junction components are unknown, with exception of the protein FraD. Here, we identify and characterize a FraD-interacting protein, SepN, as the second component of septal junctions in Nostoc. We use cryo-electron tomography of cryo-focused ion beam-thinned cyanobacterial filaments to show that septal junctions in a sepN mutant lack a plug module and display an ab

SUBMITTER: Kieninger AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9722847 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature