title: FtsK Is a DNA motor protein that activates chromosome dimer resolution by switching the catalytic state of the XerC and XerD recombinases.
abstract: FtsK acts at the bacterial division septum to couple chromosome segregation with cell division. We demonstrate that a truncated FtsK derivative, FtsK(50C), uses ATP hydrolysis to translocate along duplex DNA as a multimer in vitro, consistent with FtsK having an in vivo role in pumping DNA through the closing division septum. FtsK(50C) also promotes a complete Xer recombination reaction between dif sites by switching the state of activity of the XerCD recombinases so that XerD makes the first pair of strand exchanges to form Holliday junctions that are then resolved by XerC. The reaction between directly repeated dif sites in circular DNA leads to the formation of uncatenated circles and is equivalent to the formation of chromosome monomers from dimers.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Genetics, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, OX1 3QU, Oxford, United Kingdom
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aussel
authors.forename: François Xavier
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Barre
authors.forename: Mira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aroyo
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stasiak
authors.forename: Alicja Z
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Stasiak
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sherratt
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002384:Catalysis; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004278:DNA, Superhelical / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D019281:Dimerization; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D006868:Hydrolysis; D019426:Integrases; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008954:Models, Biological; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011487:Protein Conformation; D045522:Recombinases; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004278:DNA, Superhelical; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C096452:FtsK protein, E coli; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins; D045522:Recombinases; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases; D019426:Integrases; C115006:integron integrase IntI1; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases