This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow An erratum has been published
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wissel, M. C.
Right arrow Articles by Weiss, D. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wissel, M. C.
Right arrow Articles by Weiss, D. S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

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,{dagger} Jennifer L. Wendt,{ddagger} 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.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160.

{ddagger} 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.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Karimova, G., Robichon, C., Ladant, D. (2009). Characterization of YmgF, a 72-Residue Inner Membrane Protein That Associates with the Escherichia coli Cell Division Machinery. J. Bacteriol. 191: 333-346 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cabeen, M. T., Jacobs-Wagner, C. (2007). Skin and bones: the bacterial cytoskeleton, cell wall, and cell morphogenesis. JCB 179: 381-387 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Scheffers, D.-J., Robichon, C., Haan, G. J., den Blaauwen, T., Koningstein, G., van Bloois, E., Beckwith, J., Luirink, J. (2007). Contribution of the FtsQ Transmembrane Segment to Localization to the Cell Division Site. J. Bacteriol. 189: 7273-7280 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Goehring, N. W., Robichon, C., Beckwith, J. (2007). Role for the Nonessential N Terminus of FtsN in Divisome Assembly. J. Bacteriol. 189: 646-649 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Daniel, R. A., Noirot-Gros, M.-F., Noirot, P., Errington, J. (2006). Multiple Interactions between the Transmembrane Division Proteins of Bacillus subtilis and the Role of FtsL Instability in Divisome Assembly. J. Bacteriol. 188: 7396-7404 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Velicer, G. J., Raddatz, G., Keller, H., Deiss, S., Lanz, C., Dinkelacker, I., Schuster, S. C. (2006). Comprehensive mutation identification in an evolved bacterial cooperator and its cheating ancestor. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103: 8107-8112 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Scheffers, D.-J., Pinho, M. G. (2005). Bacterial Cell Wall Synthesis: New Insights from Localization Studies. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 69: 585-607 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»