The min locus, which confers topological specificity to cell division, is not involved in its coupling with nucleoid separation.
In Escherichia coli, nucleoid separation and cell constriction remain tightly linked when division is retarded by altering the level of synthesis of the protein FtsZ. In this study, we have examined the role of the min locus, which is responsible for the inactivation of polar division sites, in the partition-septation coupling mechanism. We conclude that the coupling persists in a delta min strain and that its timing relative to replication remains dependent on the level of FtsZ synthesis. We suggest that the retarded nucleoid segregation observed in min mutants is the result of this coupling in cells with a perturbed pattern of nonpolar divisions.
Dassain
M
M
Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Génétique Moléculaire du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Toulouse, France.
Bouché
J P
JP
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000235:genetics; D016764:Cell Polarity; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D009876:Operon / Q000235:genetics
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria; C080466:MinC protein, Bacteria; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C072069:MinD protein, E coli