Evidence for polar positional information independent of cell division and nucleoid occlusion
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Edited by Richard M. Losick, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and approved November 18, 2003 (received for review September 8, 2003)
Abstract
We present evidence that, in Escherichia coli, polar positional information is present at midcell independent of known cell division factors. In filamented cells, IcsA, which is normally polar, localizes at or near potential cell division sites. Because the cell pole is derived from the septum, the sites to which IcsA localizes in filaments correspond to future poles. IcsA localization to these sites is independent of FtsZ, MinCDE, septation, and nucleoid occlusion, indicating that positional information for the future pole is independent of cell division and chromosome positioning. Upon IcsA localization to these sites, septation is inhibited, suggesting that IcsA recognition of this polar positional information may influence cell division.
Footnotes
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↵ * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mgoldberg1{at}partners.org.
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This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
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Abbreviations: CFU, colony-forming unit; DAPI, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole.
- Copyright © 2004, The National Academy of Sciences
