This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental material
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 Real, G.
Right arrow Articles by Dworkin, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Real, G.
Right arrow Articles by Dworkin, J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, January 2008, p. 363-376, Vol. 190, No. 1
0021-9193/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01482-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Determinants for the Subcellular Localization and Function of a Nonessential SEDS Protein{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Gonçalo Real,1,§ Allison Fay,2,§ Avigdor Eldar,3 Sérgio M. Pinto,1,{ddagger} Adriano O. Henriques,1 and Jonathan Dworkin2*

Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, Apartado 127, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal,1 Department of Microbiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032,2 Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 947033

Received 13 September 2007/ Accepted 21 October 2007

The Bacillus subtilis SpoVE integral membrane protein is essential for the heat resistance of spores, probably because of its involvement in spore peptidoglycan synthesis. We found that an SpoVE-yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) fusion protein becomes localized to the forespore during the earliest stages of engulfment, and this pattern is maintained throughout sporulation. SpoVE belongs to a well-conserved family of proteins that includes the FtsW and RodA proteins of B. subtilis. These proteins are involved in bacterial shape determination, although their function is not known. FtsW is necessary for the formation of the asymmetric septum in sporulation, and we found that an FtsW-YFP fusion localized to this structure prior to the initiation of engulfment in a nonoverlapping pattern with SpoVE-cyan fluorescent protein. Since FtsW and RodA are essential for normal growth, it has not been possible to identify loss-of-function mutations that would greatly facilitate analysis of their function. We took advantage of the fact that SpoVE is not required for growth to obtain point mutations in SpoVE that block the development of spore heat resistance but that allow normal protein expression and targeting to the forespore. These mutant proteins will be invaluable tools for future experiments aimed at elucidating the function of members of the SEDS ("shape, elongation, division, and sporulation") family of proteins.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 701 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032. Phone: (212) 342-3731. Fax: (212) 305-1468. E-mail: jonathan.dworkin{at}columbia.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 2 November 2007.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jb.asm.org/.

§ These authors contributed equally to the work.

{ddagger} Present address: Institute for Molecular Biology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Journal of Bacteriology, January 2008, p. 363-376, Vol. 190, No. 1
0021-9193/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01482-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Fay, A., Dworkin, J. (2009). Bacillus subtilis Homologs of MviN (MurJ), the Putative Escherichia coli Lipid II Flippase, Are Not Essential for Growth. J. Bacteriol. 191: 6020-6028 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bennett, J. A., Yarnall, J., Cadwallader, A. B., Kuennen, R., Bidey, P., Stadelmaier, B., McCormick, J. R. (2009). Medium-Dependent Phenotypes of Streptomyces coelicolor with Mutations in ftsI or ftsW. J. Bacteriol. 191: 661-664 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Serrano, M., Vieira, F., Moran, C. P. Jr., Henriques, A. O. (2008). Processing of a Membrane Protein Required for Cell-to-Cell Signaling during Endospore Formation in Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 190: 7786-7796 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mistry, B. V., Del Sol, R., Wright, C., Findlay, K., Dyson, P. (2008). FtsW Is a Dispensable Cell Division Protein Required for Z-Ring Stabilization during Sporulation Septation in Streptomyces coelicolor. J. Bacteriol. 190: 5555-5566 [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»