title: Dominant C-terminal deletions of FtsZ that affect its ability to localize in Caulobacter and its interaction with FtsA.
abstract: The cell division protein FtsZ is composed of three regions based on sequence similarity: a highly conserved N-terminal region of approximately 320 amino acids; a variable spacer region; and a conserved C-terminal region of eight amino acids. We show that FtsZ mutants missing different C-terminal fragments have dominant lethal effects because they block cell division in Caulobacter crescentus by two different mechanisms. Removal of the C-terminal conserved region, the linker, and 40 amino acids from the end of the N-terminal conserved region (FtsZdeltaC281) prevents the localization or the polymerization of FtsZ. Because two-hybrid analysis indicates that FtsZdeltaC281 does not interact with FtsZ, we hypothesize that FtsZdeltaC281 blocks cell division by competing with a factor required for FtsZ localization or that it titrates a factor required for the stability of the FtsZ ring. The removal of 24 amino acids from the C-terminus of FtsZ (FtsZdeltaC485) causes a punctate pattern of FtsZ localization and affects its interaction with FtsA. This suggests that the conserved C-terminal region of FtsZ is required for proper polymerization of FtsZ in Caulobacter and for its interaction with FtsA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Din
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Quardokus
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sackett
authors.forename: Y V
authors.initials: YV
authors.lastname: Brun
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016935:Caulobacter crescentus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002455:Cell Division; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D015151:Immunoblotting; D010641:Phenotype; D017384:Sequence Deletion
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C065103:FtsA protein, Bacteria; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria