Journal of Bacteriology, January 2005, p. 320-328, Vol. 187, No. 1
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JB.187.1.320-328.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
The Transmembrane Helix of the Escherichia coli Division Protein FtsI Localizes to the Septal Ring
Mark C. Wissel,
Jennifer L. Wendt,
Calista J. Mitchell,
and
David S. Weiss*
Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Received 7 August 2004/
Accepted 17 September 2004
FtsI (also called PBP3) of Escherichia coli is a transpeptidase required for synthesis of peptidoglycan in the division septum and is one of about a dozen division proteins that localize to the septal ring. FtsI comprises a short amino-terminal cytoplasmic domain, a single transmembrane helix (TMH), and a large periplasmic domain that encodes the catalytic (transpeptidase) activity. We show here that a 26-amino-acid fragment of FtsI is sufficient to direct green fluorescent protein to the septal ring in cells depleted of wild-type FtsI. This fragment extends from W22 to V47 and corresponds to the TMH. This is a remarkable finding because it is usual for a TMH to target a protein to a site more specific than the membrane. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis of the TMH identified several residues important for septal localization. These residues cluster on one side of an alpha-helix, which we propose interacts directly with another division protein to recruit FtsI to the septal ring.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242. Phone: (319) 335-7785. Fax: (319) 335-9006. E-mail: david-weiss{at}uiowa.edu.
Present address: Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160.
Present address: ConjuGon, Inc., Madison, WI 53719.
Present address: 416 Mozart Court, Wheaton, IL 60187.
Journal of Bacteriology, January 2005, p. 320-328, Vol. 187, No. 1
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JB.187.1.320-328.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.