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Bacterial genetics

Splitting is never easy

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 15, pages 514–515 (2017)Cite this article

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Bacterial cell division by binary fission occurs after the formation of a dividing septum at the midpoint of the cell and requires the concerted action of several bacterial proteins. This process is driven by the tubulin homologue FtsZ, which assembles to form a ring-like structure known as the Z-ring at the site of division and constitutes a scaffold for the cytokinetic machinery. Cell division requires tight spatial and temporal regulation; however, the mechanisms that coordinate cell division with chromosomal replication and segregation are still poorly understood.

In the first study, van Raaphorst, Kjos and Veening found that in the oval-shaped bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae both chromosomal replication origins localize to the future site of cytokinesis before FtsZ, and that the formation of the Z-ring occurs simultaneously with the initiation of DNA replication. Moreover, chromosomal segregation was shown to drive the positioning of the cell division site. By developing a series of tools for live-cell fluorescence imaging, by specifically cleaving the chromosome using CRISPR–Cas9, and by analysing deletion mutants for specific factors that are known to be involved in division and chromosome segregation, the authors were able to map the cell division process in relation to the cell cycle and characterize the function of the factors involved. In particular, the authors showed that MapZ was not directly involved in the selection of division site as was previously thought, but was crucial for the placement of the division plane at the correct angle, perpendicular to the length axis of the cell. In addition, they found that the condensin-like protein structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) was responsible for early segregation of the chromosomal replication origin, and that this was important for the timely localization of the Z-ring.

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References

  1. van Raaphorst, R., Kjos, M. & Veening, J. W. Chromosome segregation drives division site selection in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, E5959–E5968 (2017)

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  2. Pang, T. et al. The nucleoid occlusion factor Noc controls DNA replication initiation in Staphylococcus aureus. PLoS Genet. 13, e1006908 (2017)

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  1. Irene Vacca
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Vacca, I. Splitting is never easy. Nat Rev Microbiol 15, 514–515 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro.2017.98

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro.2017.98

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