Negative membrane curvature as a cue for subcellular localization of a bacterial protein.
Bacterial proteins often localize to distinct sites within the cell, but the primary cues that dictate localization are largely unknown. Recent evidence has shown that positive membrane curvature can serve as a cue for localization of a peripheral membrane protein. Here we report that localization of the peripheral membrane protein DivIVA is determined in whole or in part by recognition of negative membrane curvature and that regions of the protein near the N and C terminus are important for localization. DivIVA, which is a cell division protein in Bacillus subtilis, localizes principally as a ring at nascent septa and secondarily to the less negatively curved, inside surface of the hemispherical poles of the cell. When cytokinesis is prevented, DivIVA redistributes itself to, and becomes markedly enriched at, the poles. When the rod-shaped cells are converted into spheres (protoplasts) by treatment with lysozyme, DivIVA adopts a largely uniform distribution around the cell. Recognition of membrane curvature by peripheral membrane proteins could be a general strategy for protein localization in bacteria.
Ramamurthi
Kumaran S
KS
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Losick
Richard
R
D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000166:cytology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry*; D016764:Cell Polarity; D048749:Cytokinesis; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D021381:Protein Transport; D011523:Protoplasts / Q000378:metabolism; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C104636:DivIVA protein, bacteria; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins