Topological regulation of cell division in Escherichia coli involves rapid pole to pole oscillation of the division inhibitor MinC under the control of MinD and MinE

Placement of the Z ring at midcell in Escherichia coli is assured by the action of the min system, which blocks usage of potential division sites that exist at the cell poles. This activity of min is achieved through the action of an inhibitor of division, MinC, that is activated by MinD and topologically regulated by MinE. In this study, we have used a functional GFP–MinC fusion to monitor the location of MinC. We find that GFP–MinC is a cytoplasmic protein in the absence of the other Min proteins. The addition of MinD, a peripheral membrane protein that interacts with MinC, results in GFP–MinC appearing on the membrane. In the presence of both MinD and MinE, GFP–MinC oscillates rapidly between the halves of the cell. Thus, MinC is positioned by the other Min products, but in a dynamic manner so that it is in position to inhibit Z ring assembly away from midcell.

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

[3]  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.

[4]  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.

[5]  B. Bachmann,et al.  Derivations and genotypes of some mutant derivatives of Escherichia coli K12 , 1987 .

[6]  D. Raskin,et al.  The MinE Ring: An FtsZ-Independent Cell Structure Required for Selection of the Correct Division Site in E. coli , 1997, Cell.

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

[8]  J. Lutkenhaus,et al.  Bacterial cell division and the Z ring. , 1997, Annual review of biochemistry.

[9]  S Falkow,et al.  FACS-optimized mutants of the green fluorescent protein (GFP). , 1996, Gene.

[10]  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.

[11]  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.

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

[13]  D. Belin,et al.  Tight regulation, modulation, and high-level expression by vectors containing the arabinose PBAD promoter , 1995, Journal of bacteriology.

[14]  J. Errington,et al.  Polar localization of the MinD protein of Bacillus subtilis and its role in selection of the mid-cell division site. , 1998, Genes & development.

[15]  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.

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

[17]  P A de Boer,et al.  Rapid pole-to-pole oscillation of a protein required for directing division to the middle of Escherichia coli. , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

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