The MinE Ring: An FtsZ-Independent Cell Structure Required for Selection of the Correct Division Site in E. coli

E. coli cell division is mediated by the FtsZ ring and associated factors. Selection of the correct division site requires the combined action of an inhibitor of FtsZ ring formation (MinCD) and of a topological specificity factor that somehow prevents MinCD action at the middle of the cell (MinE). Here we show that a biologically active MinE-Gfp fusion accumulates in an annular structure near the middle of young cells. Formation of the MinE ring required MinD but was independent of MinC and continued in nondividing cells in which FtsZ function was inhibited. The results indicate that the MinE ring represents a novel cell structure, which allows FtsZ ring formation at midcell by suppressing MinCD activity at this site.

[1]  L. Rothfield,et al.  A division inhibitor and a topological specificity factor coded for by the minicell locus determine proper placement of the division septum in E. coli , 1989, Cell.

[2]  T. Ogura,et al.  Chromosome partitioning in Escherichia coli: novel mutants producing anucleate cells , 1989, Journal of bacteriology.

[3]  P. D. de Boer,et al.  Isolation and properties of minB, a complex genetic locus involved in correct placement of the division site in Escherichia coli , 1988, Journal of bacteriology.

[4]  R. Losick,et al.  Identification of Bacillus subtilis genes for septum placement and shape determination , 1992, Journal of bacteriology.

[5]  J. Lutkenhaus,et al.  Interaction between FtsZ and inhibitors of cell division , 1996, Journal of bacteriology.

[6]  H. Erickson,et al.  Bacterial cell division protein FtsZ assembles into protofilament sheets and minirings, structural homologs of tubulin polymers. , 1996, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[7]  P. Baumann,et al.  An archaebacterial homologue of the essential eubacterial cell division protein FtsZ. , 1996, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[8]  J. Lutkenhaus,et al.  Overproduction of FtsZ induces minicell formation in E. coli , 1985, Cell.

[9]  L. Rothfield,et al.  The MinD protein is a membrane ATPase required for the correct placement of the Escherichia coli division site. , 1991, The EMBO journal.

[10]  E. Bi,et al.  FtsZ ring structure associated with division in Escherichia coli , 1991, Nature.

[11]  C. Price,et al.  The minCD locus of Bacillus subtilis lacks the minE determinant that provides topological specificity to cell division , 1993, Molecular microbiology.

[12]  P. D. de Boer,et al.  Central role for the Escherichia coli minC gene product in two different cell division-inhibition systems. , 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[13]  P. D. de Boer,et al.  Proper placement of the Escherichia coli division site requires two functions that are associated with different domains of the MinE protein. , 1995, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[14]  Boer,et al.  Roles of MinC and MinD in the site-specific septation block mediated by the MinCDE system of Escherichia coli , 1992, Journal of bacteriology.

[15]  L. Rothfield,et al.  The essential bacterial cell-division protein FtsZ is a GTPase , 1992, Nature.

[16]  C. Hale,et al.  Direct Binding of FtsZ to ZipA, an Essential Component of the Septal Ring Structure That Mediates Cell Division in E. coli , 1997, Cell.

[17]  A. Higashitani,et al.  A cell division inhibitor SulA of Escherichia coli directly interacts with FtsZ through GTP hydrolysis. , 1995, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.

[18]  E. Bi,et al.  FtsZ ring formation in fts mutants , 1996, Journal of bacteriology.

[19]  D. Ehrhardt,et al.  Colocalization of cell division proteins FtsZ and FtsA to cytoskeletal structures in living Escherichia coli cells by using green fluorescent protein. , 1996, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[20]  W. Donachie,et al.  Quantal Behavior of a Diffusible Factor Which Initiates Septum Formation at Potential Division Sites in Escherichia coli , 1974, Journal of bacteriology.

[21]  A. Løbner-Olesen,et al.  Chromosome partitioning in Escherichia coli , 1992, Journal of bacteriology.

[22]  W. D. Fisher,et al.  MINIATURE escherichia coli CELLS DEFICIENT IN DNA. , 1967, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[23]  W. Donachie,et al.  "Division potential" in Escherichia coli , 1996, Journal of bacteriology.

[24]  C. Touriol,et al.  Deletion analysis of gene minE which encodes the topological specificity factor of cell division in Escherichia coli , 1995, Molecular microbiology.

[25]  J. Lutkenhaus,et al.  FtsA is localized to the septum in an FtsZ-dependent manner , 1996, Journal of bacteriology.

[26]  G. Stewart,et al.  The divIVA minicell locus of Bacillus subtilis , 1997, Journal of bacteriology.

[27]  L. Rothfield,et al.  Bacterial Cell Division: The Cycle of the Ring , 1997, Cell.

[28]  G. Stewart,et al.  The divIVB region of the Bacillus subtilis chromosome encodes homologs of Escherichia coli septum placement (minCD) and cell shape (mreBCD) determinants , 1992, Journal of bacteriology.

[29]  J. Lutkenhaus.  FtsZ ring in bacterial cytokinesis , 1993, Molecular microbiology.

[30]  L. Rothfield,et al.  How Do Bacteria Decide Where to Divide? , 1996, Cell.

[31]  D. Bramhill,et al.  Bacterial cell division. , 1997, Annual review of cell and developmental biology.

[32]  J. Lutkenhaus,et al.  Guanine nucleotide-dependent assembly of FtsZ into filaments , 1994, Journal of bacteriology.

[33]  W. Margolin,et al.  Isolation of an ftsZ homolog from the archaebacterium Halobacterium salinarium: implications for the evolution of FtsZ and tubulin , 1996, Journal of bacteriology.

[34]  D. Raychaudhuri,et al.  Escherichia coli cell-division gene ftsZ encodes a novel GTP-binding protein , 1992, Nature.

[35]  J. Lutkenhaus,et al.  Escherichia coli cell division protein FtsZ is a guanine nucleotide binding protein. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[36]  L. Rothfield,et al.  A factor that positively regulates cell division by activating transcription of the major cluster of essential cell division genes of Escherichia coli. , 1991, The EMBO journal.

[37]  E. Bi,et al.  Interaction between the min locus and ftsZ , 1990, Journal of bacteriology.

[38]  J. Errington,et al.  The Bacillus subtilis DivIVA protein targets to the division septum and controls the site specificity of cell division , 1997, Molecular microbiology.

[39]  E. Bi,et al.  Cell division inhibitors SulA and MinCD prevent formation of the FtsZ ring , 1993, Journal of bacteriology.