title: The cyanobacterial cell division factor Ftn6 contains an N-terminal DnaD-like domain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  DNA replication and cell cycle as well as their relationship have been extensively studied in the two model organisms E. coli and B. subtilis. By contrast, little is known about these processes in cyanobacteria, even though they are crucial to the biosphere, in utilizing solar energy to renew the oxygenic atmosphere and in producing the biomass for the food chain. Recent studies have allowed the identification of several cell division factors that are specifics to cyanobacteria. Among them, Ftn6 has been proposed to function in the recruitment of the crucial FtsZ proteins to the septum or the subsequent Z-ring assembly and possibly in chromosome segregation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this study, we identified an as yet undescribed domain located in the conserved N-terminal region of Ftn6. This 77 amino-acids-long domain, designated here as FND (Ftn6 N-Terminal Domain), exhibits striking sequence and structural similarities with the DNA-interacting module, listed in the PFAM database as the DnaD-like domain (pfam04271). We took advantage of the sequence similarities between FND and the DnaD-like domains to construct a homology 3D-model of the Ftn6 FND domain from the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC6803. Mapping of the conserved residues exposed onto the FND surface allowed us to identify a highly conserved area that could be engaged in Ftn6-specific interactions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, similarities between FND and DnaD-like domains as well as previously reported observations on Ftn6 suggest that FND may function as a DNA-interacting module thereby providing an as yet missing link between DNA replication and cell division in cyanobacteria. Consistently, we also showed that Ftn6 is involved in tolerance to DNA damages generated by UV rays.
authors.affiliation: CEA, iBiTec-S, SBIGeM, LBI, Bat 142 CEA-Saclay, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette CEDEX, France. martial.marbouty@gmail.com
authors.forename: Martial
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marbouty
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saguez
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chauvat
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D004249:DNA Damage; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D050296:Microbial Viability / Q000528:radiation effects; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D046939:Synechocystis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins
references.citation: IUBMB Life. 2005 Jan;57(1):5-12
references.pmid: 16036556
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2009 Aug;191(16):5123-33
references.pmid: 19542290
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2001 Mar;183(6):2148-50
references.pmid: 11222620
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2002 Oct;184(19):5524-8
references.pmid: 12218043
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2004 Jun;52(6):1757-67
references.pmid: 15186423
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 2005 Jul 1;33(Web Server issue):W299-302
references.pmid: 15980475
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2004 May;52(4):1145-58
references.pmid: 15130131
references.citation: EMBO J. 1995 Jun 1;14(11):2642-50
references.pmid: 7781616
references.citation: Microbiology (Reading). 1995 Feb;141 ( Pt 2):321-2
references.pmid: 7704260
references.citation: Annu Rev Microbiol. 2006;60:351-75
references.pmid: 16753031
references.citation: Annu Rev Biochem. 2007;76:539-62
references.pmid: 17328675
references.citation: Mol Cell. 2003 Apr;11(4):1009-20
references.pmid: 12718886
references.citation: Mol Genet Genomics. 2004 May;271(4):447-57
references.pmid: 15042355
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2009 Oct;191(19):6178-85
references.pmid: 19648234
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2006 May;60(4):917-24
references.pmid: 16677303
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 1994 Nov 11;22(22):4673-80
references.pmid: 7984417
references.citation: Curr Opin Microbiol. 2008 Apr;11(2):94-9
references.pmid: 18396093
references.citation: FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2002 Nov;26(4):355-74
references.pmid: 12413665
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 2008 Mar 28;377(3):706-14
references.pmid: 18291414
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2001 Oct;42(1):245-55
references.pmid: 11679082
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 2002 Feb 15;30(4):966-74
references.pmid: 11842108
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2005 Feb;55(4):1138-50
references.pmid: 15686560
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2005 Apr;56(1):126-43
references.pmid: 15773984
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2000 May;182(10):2989-91
references.pmid: 10781575
references.citation: Proteins. 2008 Feb 15;70(3):611-25
references.pmid: 17876813
references.citation: Methods Mol Biol. 2008;426:145-59
references.pmid: 18542861
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 2001 Dec 7;276(49):45818-25
references.pmid: 11585815
references.citation: Microbiology (Reading). 2007 Aug;153(Pt 8):2505-2517
references.pmid: 17660415
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 2007 Jul;35(Web Server issue):W407-10
references.pmid: 17517781
references.citation: Genome Res. 2004 Jun;14(6):1188-90
references.pmid: 15173120
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 1997 Sep 1;25(17):3389-402
references.pmid: 9254694
references.citation: FEBS Lett. 2004 Nov 19;577(3):460-4
references.pmid: 15556628
references.citation: Int Rev Cytol. 2006;253:27-94
references.pmid: 17098054
references.citation: Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2005 Sep;69(3):501-26
references.pmid: 16148308
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2006 Aug;188(15):5487-93
references.pmid: 16855238
references.citation: BMC Biotechnol. 2008 Apr 28;8:43
references.pmid: 18439318
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 1990 Oct 5;215(3):403-10
references.pmid: 2231712
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 2005 Aug 5;351(1):66-75
references.pmid: 16002087