title: Recruitment of MinC, an inhibitor of Z-ring formation, to the membrane in Escherichia coli: role of MinD and MinE.
abstract: In Escherichia coli, the min system prevents division away from midcell through topological regulation of MinC, an inhibitor of Z-ring formation. The topological regulation involves oscillation of MinC between the poles of the cell under the direction of the MinDE oscillator. Since the mechanism of MinC involvement in the oscillation is unknown, we investigated the interaction of MinC with the other Min proteins. We observed that MinD dimerized in the presence of ATP and interacted with MinC. In the presence of a phospholipid bilayer, MinD bound to the bilayer and recruited MinC in an ATP-dependent manner. Addition of MinE to the MinCD-bilayer complex resulted in release of both MinC and MinD. The release of MinC did not require ATP hydrolysis, indicating that MinE could displace MinC from the MinD-bilayer complex. In contrast, MinC was unable to displace MinE bound to the MinD-bilayer complex. These results suggest that MinE induces a conformational change in MinD bound to the bilayer that results in the release of MinC. Also, it is argued that binding of MinD to the membrane activates MinC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
authors.forename: Zonglin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saez
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lutkenhaus
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C462942:MinC protein, E coli; C093548:MinE protein, E coli; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C072069:MinD protein, E coli