Skip to main content
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1996 Sep;178(17):5080–5085. doi: 10.1128/jb.178.17.5080-5085.1996

Interaction between FtsZ and inhibitors of cell division.

J Huang 1, C Cao 1, J Lutkenhaus 1
PMCID: PMC178301  PMID: 8752322

Abstract

The interaction between inhibitors of cell division and FtsZ were assessed by using the yeast two-hybrid system. An interaction was observed between FtsZ and SulA, a component of the SOS response, and the interacting regions were mapped to their conserved domains. This interaction was reduced by mutations in sulA and by most mutations in ftsZ that make cell refractory to sulA. No interaction was detected between FtsZ and MinCD, an inhibitory component of the site selection system. However, interactions were observed among various members of the Min system, and MinE was found to reduce the interaction between MinC and MinD. The implications of these findings for cell division are discussed.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (197.1 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bartel P., Chien C. T., Sternglanz R., Fields S. Elimination of false positives that arise in using the two-hybrid system. Biotechniques. 1993 Jun;14(6):920–924. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bi E. F., Lutkenhaus J. FtsZ ring structure associated with division in Escherichia coli. Nature. 1991 Nov 14;354(6349):161–164. doi: 10.1038/354161a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bi E., Lutkenhaus J. Analysis of ftsZ mutations that confer resistance to the cell division inhibitor SulA (SfiA). J Bacteriol. 1990 Oct;172(10):5602–5609. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.10.5602-5609.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bi E., Lutkenhaus J. Cell division inhibitors SulA and MinCD prevent formation of the FtsZ ring. J Bacteriol. 1993 Feb;175(4):1118–1125. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.4.1118-1125.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bi E., Lutkenhaus J. Interaction between the min locus and ftsZ. J Bacteriol. 1990 Oct;172(10):5610–5616. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.10.5610-5616.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bi E., Lutkenhaus J. Isolation and characterization of ftsZ alleles that affect septal morphology. J Bacteriol. 1992 Aug;174(16):5414–5423. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.16.5414-5423.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Bramhill D., Thompson C. M. GTP-dependent polymerization of Escherichia coli FtsZ protein to form tubules. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Jun 21;91(13):5813–5817. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.13.5813. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dai K., Lutkenhaus J. ftsZ is an essential cell division gene in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1991 Jun;173(11):3500–3506. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.11.3500-3506.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Dai K., Mukherjee A., Xu Y., Lutkenhaus J. Mutations in ftsZ that confer resistance to SulA affect the interaction of FtsZ with GTP. J Bacteriol. 1994 Jan;176(1):130–136. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.1.130-136.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Erickson H. P., Taylor D. W., Taylor K. A., Bramhill D. Bacterial cell division protein FtsZ assembles into protofilament sheets and minirings, structural homologs of tubulin polymers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Jan 9;93(1):519–523. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.1.519. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Fields S., Song O. A novel genetic system to detect protein-protein interactions. Nature. 1989 Jul 20;340(6230):245–246. doi: 10.1038/340245a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Freudl R., Braun G., Honoré N., Cole S. T. Evolution of the enterobacterial sulA gene: a component of the SOS system encoding an inhibitor of cell division. Gene. 1987;52(1):31–40. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(87)90392-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. George J., Castellazzi M., Buttin G. Prophage induction and cell division in E. coli. III. Mutations sfiA and sfiB restore division in tif and lon strains and permit the expression of mutator properties of tif. Mol Gen Genet. 1975 Oct 22;140(4):309–332. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Gottesman S., Halpern E., Trisler P. Role of sulA and sulB in filamentation by lon mutants of Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1981 Oct;148(1):265–273. doi: 10.1128/jb.148.1.265-273.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Higashitani A., Higashitani N., Horiuchi K. A cell division inhibitor SulA of Escherichia coli directly interacts with FtsZ through GTP hydrolysis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1995 Apr 6;209(1):198–204. doi: 10.1006/bbrc.1995.1489. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Huisman O., D'Ari R. An inducible DNA replication-cell division coupling mechanism in E. coli. Nature. 1981 Apr 30;290(5809):797–799. doi: 10.1038/290797a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Jones C., Holland I. B. Role of the SulB (FtsZ) protein in division inhibition during the SOS response in Escherichia coli: FtsZ stabilizes the inhibitor SulA in maxicells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Sep;82(18):6045–6049. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.18.6045. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Labie C., Bouché F., Bouché J. P. Minicell-forming mutants of Escherichia coli: suppression of both DicB- and MinD-dependent division inhibition by inactivation of the minC gene product. J Bacteriol. 1990 Oct;172(10):5852–5855. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.10.5852-5855.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Lutkenhaus J. F. Coupling of DNA replication and cell division: sulB is an allele of ftsZ. J Bacteriol. 1983 Jun;154(3):1339–1346. doi: 10.1128/jb.154.3.1339-1346.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Lutkenhaus J. F., Wolf-Watz H., Donachie W. D. Organization of genes in the ftsA-envA region of the Escherichia coli genetic map and identification of a new fts locus (ftsZ). J Bacteriol. 1980 May;142(2):615–620. doi: 10.1128/jb.142.2.615-620.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Lutkenhaus J. FtsZ ring in bacterial cytokinesis. Mol Microbiol. 1993 Aug;9(3):403–409. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb01701.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Lutkenhaus J., Sanjanwala B., Lowe M. Overproduction of FtsZ suppresses sensitivity of lon mutants to division inhibition. J Bacteriol. 1986 Jun;166(3):756–762. doi: 10.1128/jb.166.3.756-762.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Ma J., Ptashne M. A new class of yeast transcriptional activators. Cell. 1987 Oct 9;51(1):113–119. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90015-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Maguin E., Lutkenhaus J., D'Ari R. Reversibility of SOS-associated division inhibition in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1986 Jun;166(3):733–738. doi: 10.1128/jb.166.3.733-738.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Mizusawa S., Gottesman S. Protein degradation in Escherichia coli: the lon gene controls the stability of sulA protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Jan;80(2):358–362. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.2.358. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Mukherjee A., Dai K., Lutkenhaus J. Escherichia coli cell division protein FtsZ is a guanine nucleotide binding protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Feb 1;90(3):1053–1057. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.3.1053. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Mukherjee A., Lutkenhaus J. Guanine nucleotide-dependent assembly of FtsZ into filaments. J Bacteriol. 1994 May;176(9):2754–2758. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.9.2754-2758.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Mulder E., Woldringh C. L., Tétart F., Bouché J. P. New minC mutations suggest different interactions of the same region of division inhibitor MinC with proteins specific for minD and dicB coinhibition pathways. J Bacteriol. 1992 Jan;174(1):35–39. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.1.35-39.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Pichoff S., Vollrath B., Touriol C., Bouché J. P. Deletion analysis of gene minE which encodes the topological specificity factor of cell division in Escherichia coli. Mol Microbiol. 1995 Oct;18(2):321–329. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1995.mmi_18020321.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. RayChaudhuri D., Park J. T. Escherichia coli cell-division gene ftsZ encodes a novel GTP-binding protein. Nature. 1992 Sep 17;359(6392):251–254. doi: 10.1038/359251a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Wang X., Lutkenhaus J. The FtsZ protein of Bacillus subtilis is localized at the division site and has GTPase activity that is dependent upon FtsZ concentration. Mol Microbiol. 1993 Aug;9(3):435–442. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb01705.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Zhao C. R., de Boer P. A., Rothfield L. I. Proper placement of the Escherichia coli division site requires two functions that are associated with different domains of the MinE protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995 May 9;92(10):4313–4317. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.10.4313. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Zhao L. J., Narayan O. A gene expression vector useful for protein purification and studies of protein-protein interaction. Gene. 1993 Dec 31;137(2):345–346. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(93)90032-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. de Boer P. A., Cook W. R., Rothfield L. I. Bacterial cell division. Annu Rev Genet. 1990;24:249–274. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.24.120190.001341. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. de Boer P. A., Crossley R. E., Rothfield L. I. A division inhibitor and a topological specificity factor coded for by the minicell locus determine proper placement of the division septum in E. coli. Cell. 1989 Feb 24;56(4):641–649. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90586-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. de Boer P. A., Crossley R. E., Rothfield L. I. Central role for the Escherichia coli minC gene product in two different cell division-inhibition systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Feb;87(3):1129–1133. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.3.1129. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. de Boer P. A., Crossley R. E., Rothfield L. I. Roles of MinC and MinD in the site-specific septation block mediated by the MinCDE system of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1992 Jan;174(1):63–70. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.1.63-70.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. de Boer P., Crossley R., Rothfield L. The essential bacterial cell-division protein FtsZ is a GTPase. Nature. 1992 Sep 17;359(6392):254–256. doi: 10.1038/359254a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES