title: Filament formation of the Escherichia coli actin-related protein, MreB, in fission yeast.
abstract: Proteins structurally related to eukaryotic actins have recently been identified in several prokaryotic organisms. These actin-like proteins (MreB and ParM) and the deviant Walker A ATPase (SopA) play a key role in DNA segregation and assemble into polymers in vitro and in vivo. MreB also plays a role in cellular morphogenesis. Whereas the dynamic properties of eukaryotic actins have been extensively characterized, those of bacterial actins are only beginning to emerge. We have established the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a cellular model for the functional analysis of the Escherichia coli actin-related protein MreB. We show that MreB organizes into linear bundles that grow in a symmetrically bidirectional manner at 0.46 +/- 0.03 microm/min, with new monomers and/or oligomers being added along the entire length of the bundle. Organization of linear arrays was dependent on the ATPase activity of MreB, and their alignment along the cellular long axis was achieved by sliding along the cortex of the cylindrical part of the cell. The cell ends appeared to provide a physical barrier for bundle elongation. These experiments provide new insights into the mechanism of assembly and organization of the bacterial actin cytoskeleton.
authors.affiliation: Cell Division Laboratory, The National University of Singapore, 1 Research Link, Singapore 117604, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ramanujam
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.forename: Mithilesh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: Maki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murata-Hori
authors.forename: Mohan K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Balasubramanian
mesh_terms: D001704:Biopolymers / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000166:cytology*; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C078473:MreB protein, E coli