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Journal of Bacteriology, December 2007, p. 9001-9010, Vol. 189, No. 24
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01172-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Division Inhibitor EzrA Contains a Seven-Residue Patch Required for Maintaining the Dynamic Nature of the Medial FtsZ Ring{triangledown}

Daniel P. Haeusser, Anna Cristina Garza, Amy Z. Buscher, and Petra Anne Levin*

Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130

Received 24 July 2007/ Accepted 4 September 2007

The essential cytoskeletal protein FtsZ assembles into a ring-like structure at the nascent division site and serves as a scaffold for the assembly of the prokaryotic division machinery. We previously characterized EzrA as an inhibitor of FtsZ assembly in Bacillus subtilis. EzrA interacts directly with FtsZ to prevent aberrant FtsZ assembly and cytokinesis at cell poles. EzrA also concentrates at the cytokinetic ring in an FtsZ-dependent manner, although its precise role at this position is not known. Here, we identified a conserved patch of amino acids in the EzrA C terminus that is essential for localization to the FtsZ ring. Mutations in this patch (designated the "QNR patch") abolish EzrA localization to midcell but do not significantly affect EzrA's ability to inhibit FtsZ assembly at cell poles. ezrA QNR patch mutant cells exhibit stabilized FtsZ assembly at midcell and are significantly longer than wild-type cells, despite lacking extra FtsZ rings. These results indicate that EzrA has two distinct activities in vivo: (i) preventing aberrant FtsZ ring formation at cell poles through inhibition of de novo FtsZ assembly and (ii) maintaining proper FtsZ assembly dynamics within the medial FtsZ ring, thereby rendering it sensitive to the factors responsible for coordinating cell growth and cell division.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130. Phone: (314) 935-7888. Fax: (314) 935-4432. E-mail: plevin{at}biology.wustl.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 14 September 2007.

Journal of Bacteriology, December 2007, p. 9001-9010, Vol. 189, No. 24
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01172-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Haeusser, D. P., Lee, A. H., Weart, R. B., Levin, P. A. (2009). ClpX Inhibits FtsZ Assembly in a Manner That Does Not Require Its ATP Hydrolysis-Dependent Chaperone Activity. J. Bacteriol. 191: 1986-1991 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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