Bacterial division proteins FtsZ and ZipA induce vesicle shrinkage and cell membrane invagination

J Biol Chem. 2013 Sep 13;288(37):26625-34. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M113.491688. Epub 2013 Aug 6.

Abstract

Permeable vesicles containing the proto-ring anchoring ZipA protein shrink when FtsZ, the main cell division protein, polymerizes in the presence of GTP. Shrinkage, resembling the constriction of the cytoplasmic membrane, occurs at ZipA densities higher than those found in the cell and is modulated by the dynamics of the FtsZ polymer. In vivo, an excess of ZipA generates multilayered membrane inclusions within the cytoplasm and causes the loss of the membrane function as a permeability barrier. Overproduction of ZipA at levels that block septation is accompanied by the displacement of FtsZ and two additional division proteins, FtsA and FtsN, from potential septation sites to clusters that colocalize with ZipA near the membrane. The results show that elementary constriction events mediated by defined elements involved in cell division can be evidenced both in bacteria and in vesicles.

Keywords: Bacterial Membrane; Cell Division; Escherichia coli; FtsZ; Giant Vesicles; Membrane Function; Protein-Protein Interactions; Synthetic Biology; ZipA.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Bacterial Proteins / physiology*
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism
  • Carrier Proteins / physiology*
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / physiology*
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism*
  • Cell Membrane Permeability
  • Cryoelectron Microscopy
  • Cytoplasm / metabolism
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / metabolism
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / physiology*
  • Escherichia coli / enzymology*
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / metabolism
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / physiology*
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Microscopy, Confocal
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Phosphatidylcholines / chemistry
  • Plasmids / metabolism
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Interaction Mapping

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins
  • Escherichia coli Proteins
  • FtsZ protein, Bacteria
  • Phosphatidylcholines
  • ZipA protein, E coli