title: RodZ links MreB to cell wall synthesis to mediate MreB rotation and robust morphogenesis.
abstract: The rod shape of most bacteria requires the actin homolog, MreB. Whereas MreB was initially thought to statically define rod shape, recent studies found that MreB dynamically rotates around the cell circumference dependent on cell wall synthesis. However, the mechanism by which cytoplasmic MreB is linked to extracytoplasmic cell wall synthesis and the function of this linkage for morphogenesis has remained unclear. Here we demonstrate that the transmembrane protein RodZ mediates MreB rotation by directly or indirectly coupling MreB to cell wall synthesis enzymes. Furthermore, we map the RodZ domains that link MreB to cell wall synthesis and identify mreB mutants that suppress the shape defect of ΔrodZ without restoring rotation, uncoupling rotation from rod-like growth. Surprisingly, MreB rotation is dispensable for rod-like shape determination under standard laboratory conditions but is required for the robustness of rod shape and growth under conditions of cell wall stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544;
authors.forename: Randy M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Morgenstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544; Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton, NJ 08544;
authors.forename: Benjamin P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Bratton
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544.
authors.forename: Jeffrey P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544;
authors.forename: Nikolay
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ouzounov
authors.affiliation: Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton, NJ 08544; Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544.
authors.forename: Joshua W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Shaevitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544; zgitai@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Zemer
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gitai
mesh_terms: D002473:Cell Wall / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; D009154:Mutation; D011485:Protein Binding; D012399:Rotation; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; C538795:RodZ protein, E coli; C078473:MreB protein, E coli
keywords: bacterial cell shape; bacterial cytoskeleton; cell growth; cytoskeleton dynamics; robust rod shape