title: A role for the ESCRT system in cell division in archaea.
abstract: Archaea are prokaryotic organisms that lack endomembrane structures. However, a number of hyperthermophilic members of the Kingdom Crenarchaea, including members of the Sulfolobus genus, encode homologs of the eukaryotic endosomal sorting system components Vps4 and ESCRT-III (endosomal sorting complex required for transport-III). We found that Sulfolobus ESCRT-III and Vps4 homologs underwent regulation of their expression during the cell cycle. The proteins interacted and we established the structural basis of this interaction. Furthermore, these proteins specifically localized to the mid-cell during cell division. Overexpression of a catalytically inactive mutant Vps4 in Sulfolobus resulted in the accumulation of enlarged cells, indicative of failed cell division. Thus, the archaeal ESCRT system plays a key role in cell division.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council (MRC) Cancer Cell Unit, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0XZ, UK.
authors.forename: Rachel Y
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Samson
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Obita
authors.forename: Stefan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Freund
authors.forename: Roger L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019843:Archaeal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002455:Cell Division; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D016944:Sulfolobus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016945:Sulfolobus acidocaldarius / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019843:Archaeal Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases