Dynamic localization cycle of the cell division regulator MinE in Escherichia coli.
The MinC protein directs placement of the division septum to the middle of Escherichia coli cells by blocking assembly of the division apparatus at other sites. MinD and MinE regulate MinC activity by modulating its cellular location in a unique fashion. MinD recruits MinC to the membrane, and MinE induces MinC/MinD to oscillate rapidly between the membrane of opposite cell halves. Using fixed cells, we previously found that a MinE-green fluorescent protein fusion accumulated in an annular structure at or near the midcell, as well as along the membrane on only one side of the ring. Here we show that in living cells, MinE undergoes a rapid localization cycle that appears coupled to MinD oscillation. The results show that MinE is not a fixed marker for septal ring assembly. Rather, they support a model in which MinE stimulates the removal of MinD from the membrane in a wave-like fashion. These waves run from a midcell position towards the poles in an alternating sequence such that the time-averaged concentration of division inhibitor is lowest at midcell.
Hale
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CA
Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-4960, USA.
Meinhardt
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H
de Boer
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PA
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D002453:Cell Cycle; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; C093548:MinE protein, E coli; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C072069:MinD protein, E coli