Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• McCausland, Joshua W
• Yang, Xinxing
• Squyres, Georgia R
• Lyu, Zhixin
• Bruce, Kevin E
• Lamanna, Melissa M
• Söderström, Bill
• Garner, Ethan C
• Winkler, Malcolm E
• Xiao, Jie
• Liu, Jian

Titel

Treadmilling FtsZ polymers drive the directional movement of sPG-synthesis enzymes via a Brownian ratchet mechanism

Ist Teil von

• Nature communications, 2021-01, Vol.12 (1), p.609-609, Article 609

Ort / Verlag

England: Nature Publishing Group

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The FtsZ protein is a central component of the bacterial cell division machinery. It polymerizes at mid-cell and recruits more than 30 proteins to assemble into a macromolecular complex to direct cell wall constriction. FtsZ polymers exhibit treadmilling dynamics, driving the processive movement of enzymes that synthesize septal peptidoglycan (sPG). Here, we combine theoretical modelling with single-molecule imaging of live bacterial cells to show that FtsZ's treadmilling drives the directional movement of sPG enzymes via a Brownian ratchet mechanism. The processivity of the directional movement depends on the binding potential between FtsZ and the sPG enzyme, and on a balance between the enzyme's diffusion and FtsZ's treadmilling speed. We propose that this interplay may provide a mechanism to control the spatiotemporal distribution of active sPG enzymes, explaining the distinct roles of FtsZ treadmilling in modulating cell wall constriction rate observed in different bacteria.