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Identification of the FtsK sequence-recognition domain

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 13, pages 1023–1025 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

FtsK is a prokaryotic multidomain DNA translocase that coordinates chromosome segregation and cell division. FtsK is membrane anchored at the division septum and, guided by highly skewed DNA sequences, translocates the chromosome to bring the terminus of replication to the septum. Here, we use in vitro single-molecule and ensemble methods to unveil a mechanism of action in which the translocation and sequence-recognition activities are performed by different domains in FtsK.

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Figure 1: FtsK50CΔγ overall translocation is not unidirectional on λ DNA.
Figure 2: FtsK50CΔγ does not interact with FRS motifs.

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Acknowledgements

We dedicate this work to our friend and colleague Nick Cozzarelli, who passed away during preparation of this paper. We thank J. Moffitt, J. Gore, P. Pease and N. Crisona for critiques. US National Institutes of Health Grant GM31655 (J.L.P. and N.R.C.) and the Human Frontiers Science Organization (M.N.) supported this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology University of California, Berkeley, 94720-3204, California, USA

    Jerod L Ptacin, Marcelo Nöllmann, Carlos Bustamante & Nicholas R Cozzarelli

  2. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-3204, California, USA

    Carlos Bustamante

  3. In memoriam,

    Nicholas R Cozzarelli

Authors
  1. Jerod L Ptacin
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  2. Marcelo Nöllmann
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  3. Carlos Bustamante
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  4. Nicholas R Cozzarelli
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Correspondence to Carlos Bustamante.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Fig. 1

FtsK50CΔγ triplex displacement is not affected by FRS orientation. (PDF 87 kb)

Supplementary Fig. 2

Burst size distributions. (PDF 122 kb)

Supplementary Fig. 3

FtsK50C recognizes FRS, whereas FtsK50CΔγ does not. (PDF 100 kb)

Supplementary Data (PDF 83 kb)

Supplementary Methods (PDF 95 kb)

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Ptacin, J., Nöllmann, M., Bustamante, C. et al. Identification of the FtsK sequence-recognition domain. Nat Struct Mol Biol 13, 1023–1025 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb1157

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