scholarly journals The intrinsically disordered C-terminal linker of FtsZ regulates protofilament dynamics and superstructurein vitro

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kousik Sundararajan ◽  
Erin D. Goley

ABSTRACTThe bacterial tubulin FtsZ2polymerizes to form a discontinuous cytokinetic ring that drives bacterial cell division by directing local cell wall synthesis. FtsZ comprises a polymerizing GTPase domain, an intrinsically disordered C-terminal linker (CTL) and a C-terminal conserved α-helix (CTC). FtsZ protofilaments align circumferentially in the cell, with the CTC mediating attachment to membrane-associated division proteins. The dynamic turnover and treadmilling of clusters of FtsZ protofilaments guides cell wall synthesis and constriction. The nature and regulation of the interactions that result in the assembly of protofilaments into dynamic clusters is unknown. Here, we describe a role for the CTL ofCaulobacter crescentusFtsZ as an intrinsic regulator of lateral interactions between protofilamentsin vitro. FtsZ lacking its CTL (ΔCTL) shows dramatically increased propensity to form long multifilament bundles compared to wildtype (WT). ΔCTL has reduced GTP hydrolysis rate compared to WT. However, reducing protofilament turnover in WT is not sufficient to induce bundling. Surprisingly, binding of the membrane-anchoring protein FzlC disrupts ΔCTL bundling in a CTC-dependent manner. Moreover, the CTL affects the ability of FtsZ curving protein FzlA to promote formation of helical bundles. We conclude that the CTL of FtsZ influences polymer structure and dynamics both through intrinsic effects on lateral interactions and turnover and by influencing extrinsic regulation of FtsZ by binding partners. Our characterization of CTL function provides a biochemical handle for understanding the relationship between Z-ring structure and function in bacterial cytokinesis.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kousik Sundararajan ◽  
Anthony Vecchiarelli ◽  
Kiyoshi Mizuuchi ◽  
Erin D. Goley

SummaryBacterial cell division requires the assembly of FtsZ protofilaments into a dynamic structure called the ‘Z-ring’. The Z-ring recruits the division machinery and directs local cell wall remodeling for constriction. The organization and dynamics of protofilaments within the Z-ring coordinate local cell wall synthesis during cell constriction, but their regulation is largely unknown. The disordered C-terminal linker (CTL) region ofCaulobacter crescentusFtsZ (CcFtsZ) regulates polymer structure and turnover in solutionin vitro, and regulates Z-ring structure and activity of cell wall enzymesin vivo. To investigate the contributions of the CTL to the polymerization properties of FtsZ on its physiological platform, the cell membrane, we reconstitutedCcFtsZ polymerization on supported lipid bilayers (SLB) and visualized polymer dynamics and structure using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. UnlikeE. coliFtsZ protofilaments that organized into large, bundled patterns,CcFtsZ protofilaments assembled into small, dynamic clusters on SLBs. Moreover,CcFtsZ lacking its CTL formed large networks of straight filament bundles that underwent slower turnover than the dynamic clusters of wildtype FtsZ. Ourin vitrocharacterization provides novel insights into species- and CTL-dependent differences between FtsZ assembly properties that are relevant to Z-ring assembly and function on membranesin vivo.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 7651-7660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher P. Mattison ◽  
Scott S. Spencer ◽  
Kurt A. Kresge ◽  
Ji Lee ◽  
Irene M. Ota

ABSTRACT Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are inactivated by dual-specificity and protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) in yeasts. InSaccharomyces cerevisiae, two PTPs, Ptp2 and Ptp3, inactivate the MAPKs, Hog1 and Fus3, with different specificities. To further examine the functions and substrate specificities of Ptp2 and Ptp3, we tested whether they could inactivate a third MAPK, Mpk1, in the cell wall integrity pathway. In vivo and in vitro evidence indicates that both PTPs inactivate Mpk1, but Ptp2 is the more effective negative regulator. Multicopy expression of PTP2, but not PTP3, suppressed growth defects due to the MEK kinase mutation, BCK1-20, and the MEK mutation,MKK1-386, that hyperactivate this pathway. In addition, deletion of PTP2, but not PTP3, exacerbated growth defects due to MKK1-386. Other evidence supported a role for Ptp3 in this pathway. Expression of MKK1-386 was lethal in the ptp2Δ ptp3Δ strain but not in either single PTP deletion strain. In addition, the ptp2Δ ptp3Δ strain showed higher levels of heat stress-induced Mpk1-phosphotyrosine than the wild-type strain or strains lacking either PTP. The PTPs also showed differences in vitro. Ptp2 was more efficient than Ptp3 at binding and dephosphorylating Mpk1. Another factor that may contribute to the greater effectiveness of Ptp2 is its subcellular localization. Ptp2 is predominantly nuclear whereas Ptp3 is cytoplasmic, suggesting that active Mpk1 is present in the nucleus. Last, PTP2 but not PTP3 transcript increased in response to heat shock in a Mpk1-dependent manner, suggesting that Ptp2 acts in a negative feedback loop to inactivate Mpk1.


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben J Wu ◽  
Kwok L Ong ◽  
Sudichhya Shrestha ◽  
Kang Chen ◽  
Philip J Barter ◽  
...  

Introduction. Arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by joint inflammation and destruction, reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, and increased cardiovascular risk. Objective To determine if apolipoprotein (apo) A-I, the main HDL apolipoprotein, prevents joint inflammation in arthritis. Methods and Results In vivo: Arthritis was induced in female Lewis rats with a single 15 mg/kg intraperitoneal streptococcal cell wall peptidoglycan-polysaccharide (PG-PS) injection and quantified as a combined forepaw and hindpaw inflammation score. Arthritis progressed from an initial, acute phase of joint inflammation during the first 4 days post-PG-PS administration to remission by day 8, followed by chronic joint inflammation up to sacrifice at day 21. Two intravenous infusions of lipid-free apoA-I (8 mg/kg) 24 h pre- and 24 h post-PG-PS injection reduced the acute and chronic joint inflammation by 63±9% at day 3 and by 61±8% at day 21. Infusion of apoA-I at days 7, 9 and 11 post-PG-PS injection reduced the chronic response by 43±11% at day 21. ApoA-I infusions at 24 h prior to and at days 1, 7, 9, 11 post-PG-PS injection reduced joint inflammation by 61±5% at day 3 and by 90±5% at day 21 (p<0.05 for all vs saline infusion). These beneficial effects of apoA-I were accompanied by a reduced inflammatory white blood cell count, reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in synovial fluid, and reduced macrophage accumulation, toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and inflammatory cytokine expression in synovial tissue. In vitro: Human monocyte-derived macrophages (HMDMs) were pre-incubated with lipid-free apoA-I, then stimulated with PG-PS (20 μg/mL). Pre-incubation with apoA-I inhibited PG-PS-induced TLR2 and MyD88, a TLR2 adapter protein, expression. Nuclear factor-κB activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production were also attenuated. These anti-inflammatory effects of apoA-I were abolished in HMDMs transfected with ATP-binding cassette transporter 1 (ABCA1) siRNA. Conclusions These findings establish that apoA-I attenuates PG-PS induced arthritis in the rat. These effects may involve ABCA-1 and inhibition of TLR2 expression and activation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 404-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Dörr ◽  
Laura Alvarez ◽  
Fernanda Delgado ◽  
Brigid M. Davis ◽  
Felipe Cava ◽  
...  

The bacterial cell wall is critical for maintenance of cell shape and survival. Following exposure to antibiotics that target enzymes required for cell wall synthesis, bacteria typically lyse. Although several cell envelope stress response systems have been well described, there is little knowledge of systems that modulate cell wall synthesis in response to cell wall damage, particularly in Gram-negative bacteria. Here we describe WigK/WigR, a histidine kinase/response regulator pair that enablesVibrio cholerae, the cholera pathogen, to survive exposure to antibiotics targeting cell wall synthesis in vitro and during infection. Unlike wild-typeV. cholerae, mutants lackingwigRfail to recover following exposure to cell-wall–acting antibiotics, and they exhibit a drastically increased cell diameter in the absence of such antibiotics. Conversely, overexpression ofwigRleads to cell slimming. Overexpression of activated WigR also results in increased expression of the full set of cell wall synthesis genes and to elevated cell wall content. WigKR-dependent expression of cell wall synthesis genes is induced by various cell-wall–acting antibiotics as well as by overexpression of an endogenous cell wall hydrolase. Thus, WigKR appears to monitor cell wall integrity and to enhance the capacity for increased cell wall production in response to damage. Taken together, these findings implicate WigKR as a regulator of cell wall synthesis that controls cell wall homeostasis in response to antibiotics and likely during normal growth as well.


1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Pargney

In angiosperm plants subjected to plasmolysis, pollen tubes may undergo substantial ultrastructural changes accompanied by a gradual deterioration of those processes involved in cell syntheses. However, some tubes quickly regenerate a polysaccharide wall and thus ensure their extension. Others undergo fragmentation of their cytoplasm and a serious breakdown in processes involved in cell wall synthesis. In these extreme cases, the endoplasmic reticulum is the only compartment that is readily discernible.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Zamakhaeva ◽  
Catherine T. Chaton ◽  
Jeffrey S. Rush ◽  
Sowmya Ajay Castro ◽  
Alexander E. Yarawsky ◽  
...  

AbstractBacterial cell division is driven by a tubulin homolog FtsZ, which assembles into the Z-ring structure leading to the recruitment of the cell division machinery. In ovoid-shaped Gram-positive bacteria, such as streptococci, MapZ guides Z-ring positioning at cell equators through an, as yet, unknown mechanism. The cell wall of the important dental pathogen Streptococcus mutans is composed of peptidoglycan decorated with Serotype c Carbohydrates (SCCs). Here, we show that an immature form of SCC, lacking the recently identified glycerol phosphate (GroP) modification, coordinates Z-ring positioning. Pulldown assays using S. mutans cell wall combined with binding affinity analysis identified the major cell separation autolysin, AtlA, as an SCC binding protein. Importantly, AtlA binding to mature SCC is attenuated due to GroP modification. Using fluorescently-labeled AtlA, we mapped SCC distribution on the streptococcal surface to reveal that GroP-deficient immature SCCs are exclusively present at the cell poles and equators. Moreover, the equatorial GroP-deficient SCCs co-localize with MapZ throughout the S. mutans cell cycle. Consequently, in GroP-deficient mutant bacteria, proper AtlA localization is abrogated resulting in dysregulated cellular autolysis. In addition, these mutants display morphological abnormalities associated with MapZ mislocalization leading to Z-ring misplacement. Altogether, our data support a model in which GroP-deficient immature SCCs spatially coordinate the localization of AtlA and MapZ. This mechanism ensures cell separation by AtlA at poles and Z-ring alignment with the cell equator.Graphical abstract


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lam T. Nguyen ◽  
Catherine M. Oikonomou ◽  
H. Jane Ding ◽  
Mohammed Kaplan ◽  
Qing Yao ◽  
...  

AbstractTo divide, Gram-negative bacterial cells must remodel their peptidoglycan cell wall to a smaller and smaller radius at the division site, but how this process occurs remains debated. While the tubulin homolog FtsZ is thought to generate a constrictive force, it has also been proposed that cell wall remodeling alone is sufficient to drive membrane constriction, possibly via a make-before-break mechanism in which new hoops of cell wall are made inside the existing hoops (make) before bonds in the existing wall are cleaved (break). Previously, we constructed software, REMODELER 1, to simulate cell wall remodeling in rod-shaped bacteria during growth. Here, we used this software as the basis for an expanded simulation system, REMODELER 2, which we used to explore different mechanistic models of cell wall division. We found that simply organizing the cell wall synthesis complexes at the midcell was not sufficient to cause wall invagination, even with the implementation of a make-before-break mechanism. Applying a constrictive force at the midcell could drive division if the force was sufficiently large to initially constrict the midcell into a compressed state before new hoops of relaxed cell wall were incorporated between existing hoops. Adding a make-before-break mechanism could drive division with a smaller constrictive force sufficient to bring the midcell peptidoglycan into a relaxed, but not necessarily compressed, state.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elysia A. Masters ◽  
Gowrishankar Muthukrishnan ◽  
Lananh Ho ◽  
Ann Lindley Gill ◽  
Karen L. de Mesy Bentley ◽  
...  

Staphylococcus aureus invasion of the osteocyte lacuno-canalicular network (OLCN) is a novel mechanism of bacterial persistence and immune evasion in chronic osteomyelitis. Previous work highlighted S. aureus cell wall transpeptidase, penicillin binding protein 4 (PBP4), and surface adhesin, S. aureus surface protein C (SasC), as critical factors for bacterial deformation and propagation through nanopores in vitro, representative of the confined canaliculi in vivo. Given these findings, we hypothesized that cell wall synthesis machinery and surface adhesins enable durotaxis- and haptotaxis-guided invasion of the OLCN, respectively. Here, we investigated select S. aureus cell wall synthesis mutants (Δpbp3, Δatl, and ΔmreC) and surface adhesin mutants (ΔclfA and ΔsasC) for nanopore propagation in vitro and osteomyelitis pathogenesis in vivo. In vitro evaluation in the microfluidic silicon membrane-canalicular array (μSiM-CA) showed pbp3, atl, clfA, and sasC deletion reduced nanopore propagation. Using a murine model for implant-associated osteomyelitis, S. aureus cell wall synthesis proteins were found to be key modulators of S. aureus osteomyelitis pathogenesis, while surface adhesins had minimal effects. Specifically, deletion of pbp3 and atl decreased septic implant loosening and S. aureus abscess formation in the medullary cavity, while deletion of surface adhesins showed no significant differences. Further, peri-implant osteolysis, osteoclast activity, and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) production were decreased following pbp3 deletion. Most notably, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging of infected bone showed that pbp3 was the only gene herein associated with decreased submicron invasion of canaliculi in vivo. Together, these results demonstrate that S. aureus cell wall synthesis enzymes are critical for OLCN invasion and osteomyelitis pathogenesis in vivo.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (38) ◽  
pp. 23879-23885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey S. Marmont ◽  
Thomas G. Bernhardt

Cell division in bacteria is mediated by a multiprotein assembly called the divisome. A major function of this machinery is the synthesis of the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall that caps the daughter poles and prevents osmotic lysis of the newborn cells. Recent studies have implicated a complex of FtsW and FtsI (FtsWI) as the essential PG synthase within the divisome; however, how PG polymerization by this synthase is regulated and coordinated with other activities within the machinery is not well understood. Previous results have implicated a conserved subcomplex of division proteins composed of FtsQ, FtsL, and FtsB (FtsQLB) in the regulation of FtsWI, but whether these proteins act directly as positive or negative regulators of the synthase has been unclear. To address this question, we purified a five-memberPseudomonas aeruginosadivision complex consisting of FtsQLB-FtsWI. The PG polymerase activity of this complex was found to be greatly stimulated relative to FtsWI alone. Purification of complexes lacking individual components indicated that FtsL and FtsB are sufficient for FtsW activation. Furthermore, support for this activity being important for the cellular function of FtsQLB was provided by the identification of two division-defective variants of FtsL that still form normal FtsQLB-FtsWI complexes but fail to activate PG synthesis. Thus, our results indicate that the conserved FtsQLB complex is a direct activator of PG polymerization by the FtsWI synthase and thereby define an essential regulatory step in the process of bacterial cell division.


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