A multidomain hub anchors the chromosome segregation and chemotactic machinery to the bacterial pole.
The cell poles constitute key subcellular domains that are often critical for motility, chemotaxis, and chromosome segregation in rod-shaped bacteria. However, in nearly all rods, the processes that underlie the formation, recognition, and perpetuation of the polar domains are largely unknown. Here, in Vibrio cholerae, we identified HubP (hub of the pole), a polar transmembrane protein conserved in all vibrios, that anchors three ParA-like ATPases to the cell poles and, through them, controls polar localization of the chromosome origin, the chemotactic machinery, and the flagellum. In the absence of HubP, oriCI is not targeted to the cell poles, chemotaxis is impaired, and a small but increased fraction of cells produces multiple, rather than single, flagella. Distinct cytoplasmic domains within HubP are required for polar targeting of the three ATPases, while a periplasmic portion of HubP is required for its localization. HubP partially relocalizes from the poles to the mid-cell prior to cell division, thereby enabling perpetuation of the polar domain in future daughter cells. Thus, a single polar hub is instrumental for establishing polar identity and organization.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Yoshiharu
Y
Yamaichi
Raphael
R
Bruckner
Simon
S
Ringgaard
Andrea
A
Möll
D Ewen
DE
Cameron
Ariane
A
Briegel
Grant J
GJ
Jensen
Brigid M
BM
Davis
Matthew K
MK
Waldor
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D020090:Chromosome Segregation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism*; D005407:Flagella / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017353:Gene Deletion; D051738:Origin Recognition Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D021381:Protein Transport; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C114650:OriC chromosomal replication origin; D051738:Origin Recognition Complex