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Journal of Bacteriology, February 2000, p. 613-619, Vol. 182, No. 3
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Membrane Redistribution of the Escherichia
coli MinD Protein Induced by MinE
S. L.
Rowland,
X.
Fu,
M. A.
Sayed,
Y.
Zhang,
W. R.
Cook, and
L. I.
Rothfield*
Department of Microbiology, University of
Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06032
Received 26 April 1999/Accepted 3 November 1999
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ABSTRACT |
Escherichia coli cells contain potential division sites
at midcell and adjacent to the cell poles. Selection of the correct division site at midcell is controlled by three proteins: MinC, MinD,
and MinE. It has previously been shown (D. Raskin and P. de Boer, Cell
91:685-694, 1997) that MinE-Gfp localizes to the midcell site in an
MinD-dependent manner. We use here Gfp-MinD to show that MinD
associates with the membrane around the entire periphery of the cell in
the absence of the other Min proteins and that MinE is capable of
altering the membrane distribution pattern of Gfp-MinD. Studies with
the isolated N-terminal and C-terminal MinE domains indicated different
roles for the two MinE domains in the redistribution of
membrane-associated MinD.
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INTRODUCTION |
Cell division in Escherichia
coli and most other rod-shaped bacteria occurs by formation of a
division septum at the midpoint of the cell, thus ensuring the
equipartition of cytoplasmic components into the two daughter cells. To
ensure that division occurs only at the midcell site, the cell must
select this site in preference to other potential division sites that
are located adjacent to the cell poles. If the polar sites are used to
support septum formation, small chromosomeless minicells are formed
that are incapable of undergoing further divisions. In E. coli, the selective suppression of the polar division sites is
accomplished by the cooperative action of the three gene products of
the minCDE locus: MinC, MinD, and MinE.
Previous studies (4) have shown that the three Min proteins
act in the following way. MinC and MinD act in concert to form a
nonspecific inhibitor of septation. In this process, MinD functions to
activate the latent division inhibitory activity of MinC
(6). The MinCD division inhibitor lacks site specificity, as
shown by the observation that expression of minC and
minD in the absence of minE leads to a block in
septation at all potential division sites, leading to formation of long
nonseptate filaments. Filamentation is suppressed by MinE, which acts
as a topological specificity factor to prevent the division inhibitor
from acting at the midcell site while permitting it to block septation
at polar division sites.
The ability of MinE to counteract the MinCD division inhibitor and the
ability to impart topological specificity to the system reside in
different domains of the 88-amino-acid MinE protein. The N-terminal
MinE domain is responsible for the anti-MinCD function, as shown by the
ability of MinE1-22 (20) or
MinE1-34 (13) to prevent MinCD-induced
filamentation. (Superscripts [e.g., minE1-53]
refer to amino acid positions within MinE or within the minE gene product.) The C-terminal domain of MinE is thought to encode the
MinE topological specificity function that is responsible for limiting
its action to the division site at midcell. It has been proposed that
topological specificity is accomplished by the binding of the
C-terminal topological specificity domain to a putative topological
target molecule at the new division site at midcell (17).
The sequestration of MinE at midcell would permit it to interfere with
the division inhibitor at this site without interfering with the
division inhibition activity at the unwanted polar division sites. As a
result, normal cell division would occur and polar divisions would be
prevented. Excess MinE has been shown to induce minicell formation,
suggesting that once the topological target is saturated, the excess
MinE molecules are free to counteract the division inhibitor elsewhere
in the cell.
Consistent with the ability of MinE to specifically counteract the
division inhibitor at midcell, a MinE-green fluorescent protein chimera
(MinE-Gfp) localizes to a ring-like structure at sites adjacent to the
midcell, and this localization pattern requires the simultaneous
expression of minD (14). This implicates MinD in
the process that leads to localization of MinE at midcell.
MinD plays several roles in the Min system. First, it activates the
MinC division inhibitor. Second, it is required to make the division
inhibitor sensitive to MinE (5, 10). Third, MinD is required
to localize MinE at midcell (14). After the initial
submission of the present study for publication, it was shown in a
related study that MinD localizes to the cell pole in a MinE-dependent
fashion and undergoes a rapid oscillation from pole to pole
(16).
We have also examined the cellular localization of the MinD protein and
its membrane interactions with MinE by using a green fluorescent
protein-MinD fusion protein (Gfp-MinD) to monitor the cellular
distribution of MinD. In this report we describe the membrane
rearrangements of Gfp-MinD that are induced by coexpression with MinE,
and we define a specific role for the N-terminal MinE domain in this process.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Bacterial strains.
E. coli PB114 (
DB217) was
derived from PB114 (
minCDE) (4) and
DB217
(Plac-minC).
DB217 was constructed by in vivo
recombination of plasmid pDB217 (6) with
NT5
(3). E. coli RC1 [
minCDE
(araAB01C-leu)] was constructed by P1-mediated
transduction of
min from PB114 into E. coli MC1000.
Plasmids.
pSY1057
(Plac-minE22-88), a pUC derivative,
has been previously described (19). pJPB262
(Plac-minE1-32) was a gift from
Jean-Pierre Bouché (13); this pUC8-derived plasmid
contains a termination codon immediately after
minE1-32 and the
minE33-88 portion of minE has been deleted.
For pSY1053 (Plac-minE1-53), the
HindIII/XbaI fragment from pZC20
(20), in which a translational stop codon follows
minE1-53, was subcloned into pBluescript KS
(Stratagene). For pDB188 (Plac-minE), the
HindIII/EcoRI fragment from pDB156
(4) was inserted into HindIII/EcoRI-digested pBluescript KS. For
pAS72, NdeI/HindIII-digested pET21a (Novagen)
was ligated to a fragment containing the minD gene from
pDB175 (4), prepared by PCR; the fragment lacks any minE sequences. For pAS74
(Plac-minD), the
XbaI/HindIII minD fragment from
pAS72 was inserted into XbaI/HindIII-digested
pBluescript SK. For pFX1
(Plac-minE1-53::gfp),
pDB175 (4) was used as template in a PCR reaction to generate a minE fragment coding for amino acids 1 to 53, preceded by the terminal region of minD that includes the
ribosome-binding site for minE translation; PCR was also
used to generate a fragment from pKENgfpmut2 (1) that
includes the entire gfpmut2 gene, immediately preceded by a
BamHI site. The two fragments were cleaved with
EcoRI/BamHI and
BamHI/HindIII, respectively, and the
fragments were ligated into
EcoRI/HindIII-digested pBluescript. The
resulting pFX1 plasmid contains minE1-53 cloned
in frame to gfpmut2, with an intervening four amino acid linker (Gly-Ser-Glu-Phe). For pFX11
(Plac-gfp::minD
minE1-53), a minE1-53
fragment with a TAG termination codon immediately after codon 53 was
generated by PCR with pSLR23 as a template. The PCR fragment was
cleaved with EcoRI/HindIII and ligated into
EcoRI/HindIII-digested pMLB1113
(4). The minE1-53-gfp
fusion was verified by sequencing. pYW3 (Plac-minC
gfp::minD minE) was constructed by ligating
the 1.9-kbp HindIII (Klenow enzyme-treated)/NheI fragment from pSLR23, which contains
gfp::minD minE, into pDB217
(Plac-minC) (6) that had been
digested with XbaI (Klenow-treated) and SpeI.
The following plasmids were derived from the pACYC-derived plasmid
pBAD33 (
8) or pSJ4, a plasmid (kindly provided by S.
Justice) that was derived from pBAD33 by site-directed mutagenesis
that
destroyed the
EcoRI site in the
cat gene without
inactivating
chloramphenicol resistance. pAS73
(
Para-minD) encodes
minD preceded
by
the ribosome-binding site and leader sequence of pET21a (Novagen).
The
plasmid was constructed by subcloning the
XbaI/
HindIII fragment
from pAS72 into
XbaI/
HindIII-digested pBAD33. pAS86
(
Para-minE::
gfp)
contains
minE fused in frame to
gfpmut2; the
minE::
gfpmut2 fragment
was originally
prepared by PCR from pKEN1gfpmut2 (
1) and was
transferred to
SmaI/
HindIII-digested pBAD33 as an
XmnI/
HindIII
fragment from the intermediate
plasmid pAS82 (
Para-minD
minE::
gfpmut2).
pSLR21
(
Para-gfpmut2) encodes the
gfpmut2 gene, preceded by the
ribosome-binding site and
leader sequence of pET21a (Novagen).
The plasmid was constructed by
ligating a PCR-derived
gfpmut2-containing
fragment to
EcoRI/
HindIII-digested pSJ4, thereby placing
gfpmut2 under
Para control. The
fragment was derived by PCR with a pKEN
derivative encoding the
gfpmut2 gene (
1) as a template. pSLR22
(
Para-gfpmut2::
minD)
encodes the
gfpmut2 gene fused in frame to
the 5' end of the
minD gene and preceded by the ribosome-binding
site and
leader sequence of pET21a. The stop codon of
gfp was
replaced with a tyrosine codon. In the protein product, Gfp is
linked
to MinD by a Gly-Ser-Arg-Phe linker which also encodes
an
XbaI site, and Met-1 of MinD has been replaced by Ile. This
protein can be produced at a high concentration without the formation
of inclusion bodies. The plasmid was constructed by ligating
EcoRI/
HindIII-digested
pSJ4 to an
EcoRI/
XbaI-digested
gfpmut2-containing
fragment and
an
XbaI/
HindIII-digested
minD-containing fragment. The
gfpmut2 gene was
obtained via PCR by using the same primers and template
as for pSLR21;
the
minD gene was obtained by PCR with pDB175 as
a template.
The entire fusion gene was sequenced to ensure it
was correct. pSLR23
(
Para-gfpmut2::
minD minE)
encodes the same
gfpmut2::
minD fusion
as pSLR22, upstream of the
minE gene; the
DNA sequence
between
minD and
minE is as found on the
E. coli chromosome. The plasmid was constructed by ligating
EcoRI/
HindIII-digested
pSJ4 to an
EcoRI/
XbaI-digested PCR product encoding
gfpmut2 and
to an
XbaI/
HindIII-digested
minD minE
PCR product derived from
pDB175. The primers and template for
gfpmut2 were the same as
for pSLR22 (above). The entire
PCR-generated insert was sequenced
to ensure it was correct. pSLR24
(
Para-minD minE) encodes the
wild-type
minD and
minE genes in tandem preceded by the
ribosome-binding
site and leader sequence of pET 21a. It was
constructed by ligating
EcoRI/
HindIII-digested pSJ4 to an
EcoRI/
HindIII-digested PCR product
encoding
minD minE, derived from plasmid pDB175
(
4).
Growth conditions.
Strains were grown overnight on L agar
plates containing 1% glucose and antibiotics needed for plasmid
maintenance (50 or 100 µg of ampicillin per ml for pUC or
pBluescript-derived plasmids and 20 µg of chloramphenicol per ml for
pBAD33-derived plasmids) and were inoculated the next morning into L
broth containing the same additives. After 3 to 4 h of growth at
37°C, the cells were collected by centrifugation, washed twice with L
broth, and suspended at an A600 of 0.04 in fresh
L broth lacking glucose but containing antibiotics and inducer, where
indicated. Unless otherwise stated, genes under
Para control were expressed by growth in 0.001 to 0.005% arabinose, while genes under Plac
control were expressed at basal levels by growth in the absence of IPTG
(isopropyl-
-D-thiogalactopyranoside). The cultures were
incubated with shaking at 30°C for 4 to 4.5 h, and cells were
sampled directly from the culture for microscopy (unfixed) or were
fixed by addition to the culture of 1.7% formaldehyde and 0.17%
glutaraldehyde (final concentrations), followed by incubation at room
temperature for 45 min. The fixed cells were collected by
centrifugation, resuspended in 0.9% saline, and stored at 4°C until
microscopic examination. Western blot analysis showed that the
concentrations of Gfp-MinD in
minCDE cells containing
plasmid pSLR22
(Para-gfp::minD), in cells
grown for 4.5 h in the presence of 0.001 or 0.0025% arabinose,
were 0.96- and 1.78-fold the concentration of MinD in the wild-type
strain, respectively. In
minCDE cells containing plasmid
pSLR23 (Para-gfp::minD
minE) and grown in the presence of 0.001 or 0.0025% arabinose,
the concentrations of Gfp-MinD were 1.17- and 2.1-fold and the
concentrations of MinE were 5.0- and 9.5-fold, respectively, their
concentrations in the wild-type strain.
Gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting.
Cells for Western
blot analysis were harvested by centrifugation and frozen immediately.
Frozen samples were thawed by resuspension in sodium dodecyl
sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis loading buffer, boiled for 5 min, and subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis
(11). Immunoblots were performed as previously described by
using antibodies directed against MinE2-19 to compare the
concentrations of MinE and N-terminal MinE fragments and antibody
directed against a mixture of MinE29-38 and
MinE70-88 to detect MinE+ or to compare the
concentrations of MinE and of MinE C-terminal fragments (19,
20). Antibody raised against whole wild-type MinD protein was
used to detect MinD and Gfp-MinD. Bands in Western blots were
quantitated by using the ImageQuant program (Molecular Dynamics) on
digitized images by using concentrations of cell extracts where the
band intensity was proportional to amount of the sample applied to the gel.
Microscopy and data analysis.
Samples were examined by phase
contrast, Nomarski, and fluorescence microscopy. A minicell phenotype
was defined by the presence of moderate to large numbers of spherical
minicells, polar septa, and cells with a length ranging from the
wild-type length to short filaments of approximately four to six cell
lengths. A filamenting phenotype was defined by the virtual to complete
absence of minicells and by the presence of large numbers of filaments,
ranging from 6 to 100 cell lengths. Fluorescence images were collected
by using an integrating charge-coupled device camera. Measurements of
cell lengths and positions of cell landmarks and data analysis were done by using the public domain NIH Image program
(http://rsb.info.nih.gov/nih-image/) and in-house software.
 |
RESULTS |
Phenotypic effects of a Gfp-MinD fusion protein.
To study the
cellular localization of MinD, we constructed a
gfp::minD fusion that codes for a
protein (Gfp-MinD) in which the high quantum yield Gfpmut2
(1) (called Gfp in the remainder of this study) is fused to
the N-terminal end of MinD. The
gfp::minD fusion was expressed under
control of the arabinose-inducible BAD promoter to permit coexpression
of other relevant genes under Plac control in
the same cell.
MinD normally performs two functions that affect formation of the
division septum and that can be assayed in vivo: (i) MinD
is an
activator of the MinC division inhibitor and (ii) MinD makes
the
division inhibitor sensitive to suppression by MinE. Evidence
that the
Gfp-MinD fusion protein retained these two functions
was obtained by
comparing the effects of MinD and Gfp-MinD on
the division pattern of a
min strain in the presence of MinC
and/or
MinE.
As previously reported (
4), induction of
minC
from an integrated
Plac-minC prophage in the
absence of MinD failed to block
division in a
minCDE
strain (Fig.
1a), whereas coexpression of
minC and
minD led to the formation of nonseptate
filaments (Fig.
1b and c). Coexpression of
minC and
gfp::
minD also induced filamentation
when
Plac-minC and
Para-gfp::
minD were
coinduced by growth in
the presence of IPTG and arabinose (Fig.
1d). We
conclude that
Gfp-MinD retained the MinC activation effect of MinD.

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FIG. 1.
Phenotypic effects of Gfp-MinD, MinD, and
MinE1-53-Gfp. (Panels a to f) Strain PB114 ( DB217)
( minCDE [Plac-minC]) containing
the indicated plasmids was grown at 30° for 3.5 h in L broth
containing 1 mM IPTG and 0.01% arabinose unless otherwise indicated
and then examined by phase-contrast microscopy. Panels: a, plasmid
pBAD33 (vector); b, plasmid pSLR22
(Para-gfp::minD) (arabinose
was omitted); c, plasmid pAS73 (Para-minD); d,
plasmid pSLR22
(Para-gfp::minD); e,
plasmid pSLR24 (Para-minD minE); f, plasmid
pSLR23 (Para-gfp::minD
minE); g, strain RC1/pYW3 (Plac-minC
gfp::minD minE) was grown at 30° for
4.5 h in L broth containing 10 µM IPTG; h and i, strain
DH5 /pFX1
(minC+D+E+/Plac-minE1-53::gfp)
was grown for 4 h at 30° in L broth containing 0.05 mM IPTG (h)
or 1 mM IPTG (i). Bars, 5 µm.
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MinD is required to make MinC-mediated division inhibition sensitive to
suppression by MinE (
6). To ask whether Gfp-MinD
retained
this aspect of MinD function,
minD or
gfp::
minD was expressed
in
cis with
minE in cells that expressed
minC
from a
Plac-minC 
prophage. As previously
described, the expression of
minE suppressed
the
filamentation that occurred when
minC and
minD
were coexpressed
in the absence of
minE (Fig.
1e).
Similarly, filamentation was
suppressed when
minD was
replaced by
gfp::
minD (in pSLR23, Fig.
1f). Thus, Gfp-MinD behaves similarly to MinD in making the activated
MinC division inhibitor sensitive to
MinE.
Raskin and de Boer (
16) have shown that Gfp-MinD can correct
the minicelling phenotype of a
minD1 mutant, in which the
mutation
is located near the carboxy terminus of MinD (
10).
This showed
that the Gfp-MinD protein retains the MinD function that is
lost
due to the
minD1 mutation. In the present study,
evidence that
Gfp-MinD could provide all of the functions of MinD was
obtained
by expressing
minC,
gfp::
minD, and
minE in
a
minCDE strain (from
PB114/pYW3
[
minCDE/Plac-minC
gfp::
minD minE]). As illustrated
in Fig.
1g,
low-level derepression of
Plac by growth of
PB114/pYW3
in 0.005% or 0% glucose or 10 µM IPTG led to almost
complete disappearance
of the minicell phenotype. Similar results were
obtained with
wild-type MinD, expressed from pDB170
(
Plac-minC minD minE) (data
not shown)
(
4). In this case, minicelling was corrected at
even lower
levels of derepression, obtained by growth in 0.05
or 0.01% glucose.
We conclude that Gfp-MinD has retained all of
the important functions
of MinD, although the Gfp moiety may interfere
somewhat with MinD
efficiency or
stability.
Pattern of membrane-associated Gfp-MinD in the absence of
MinE.
It has previously been shown that MinE-Gfp can localize to
sites near midcell and that this localization requires the presence of
the MinD protein (14). We therefore studied the localization pattern of Gfp-MinD in the presence or absence of MinE. Experiments were performed in the
min strain PB114. Because of the
min background, the cells showed a minicell phenotype
consisting of minicells plus cells ranging from wild-type cell length
to short filaments. Cells were examined after low-level induction of
Gfp-MinD from Para-gfp::minD by growth in
the presence of 0.001 to 0.005% arabinose. Under these conditions the
phenotype of the
min host was unchanged.
Most fluorescent cells in the population showed a peripheral pattern of
fluorescence that extended entirely around the cell
(Fig.
2a). The pattern was seen at all levels
of arabinose induction
that were tested. The peripheral pattern was not
an optical artifact
since expression of Gfp alone, in the absence of
the MinD moiety,
showed only diffuse cellular fluorescence without
evidence of
peripheral localization (Fig.
2b). We conclude that MinD
can associate
with the cell membrane around the entire periphery of the
cell
in the absence of other Min proteins, an idea consistent with
the
results of Raskin and de Boer (
16).

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FIG. 2.
Distribution of Gfp-MinD in the absence of other Min
proteins. Strain PB114/pSLR22
( minCDE/Para-gfp::minD)
was grown in the presence of 0.005% arabinose for 4 h at 30°C
prior to fluorescence microscopy. (a) Fixed cells showing the
peripheral pattern of Gfp-MinD fluorescence. A, polar arc. (b) Fixed
cells; pSLR22 was replaced by
pSLR21(Para-gfp).
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In addition to the peripheral localization pattern, approximately 10%
of the cells contained a short fluorescent polar arc
("A" in Fig.
2a). The polar arcs were usually present at only
one of the two cell
poles.
Effect of MinE on the Gfp-MinD distribution pattern: polar
zones.
Evidence that MinE can induce changes in the distribution
pattern of membrane-associated MinD came from experiments in which gfp::minD was coexpressed with
minE in a
min strain (RC1/pSLR22/pDB188 [
min/Para-gfp::minD/Plac-minE])
by growth in the presence of 0.001 to 0.005% arabinose. Under these
conditions many cells in the population contained a long fluorescent
zone at one end of the cell (Fig. 3). In
unfixed cells, the polar zones of Gfp-MinD oscillated from pole-to-pole
(Fig. 4) as has previously been described (16).

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FIG. 3.
Distribution of Gfp-MinD in the presence of MinE. Strain
PB114/pSLR22/pDB188
( minCDE/Para-gfp::minD/Plac-minE)
was grown in the presence of 0.0025% arabinose for 4 h at 30°C.
Fluorescence micrographs are shown on the left; Nomarski micrographs
are shown on the right. Membrane-associated Gfp-MinD fluorescence is
almost exclusively present in the polar zones.
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FIG. 4.
Pole-to-pole movement of Gfp-MinD in the presence of
MinE. Strain PB114 ( DB156)/pSLR22 [ minCDE
(Plac-minE)/Para-gfp::minD]
was grown in 0.0025% arabinose and 10 µM IPTG for 4 h at
30°C. Unfixed cells were examined. A single field is shown. Panels:
a, Nomarski differential interference micrograph; b and b' to f and f',
fluorescence images were collected at 2-min intervals. In panels b' to
f' a white outline has been added to indicate the position of the cell.
A zone of polar fluorescence at the upper left pole can be seen to move
to the opposite pole (d and e) and then to return to the original pole
(f).
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Quantitative Western blots, made by using anti-MinD antibody, were done
to exclude the possibility that the redistribution
of Gfp-MinD might
have reflected secondary increases in Gfp-MinD
concentration rather
than a positive effect of MinE on MinD distribution.
This showed no
significant difference in the concentration of
immunoreactive Gfp-MinD
between cells that did not express MinE
and those that coexpressed MinE
and Gfp-MinD (data not shown).
This excludes the possibility that the
effect of MinE was due
to a secondary change in MinD
concentration.
Effect of MinE domains on localization of Gfp-MinD.
Previous
work has indicated that the topological specificity domain of MinE is
located within the C-terminal region (MinE36-88) of the
88-amino-acid MinE protein and that the anti-MinCD domain that is
capable of suppressing the action of the MinCD division inhibitor is
located in the N-terminal region of the protein (MinE1-22
or MinE1-34) (13, 20). It has been suggested
that the topological specificity domain interacts with a topological
target at midcell to direct MinE localization at midcell, whereas the
anti-MinCD domain of MinE is thought to interact with the MinCD system
via MinD (17).
We therefore asked whether the ability of MinE to cause Gfp-MinD to
coalesce into an extended membrane-associated structure
at the cell
pole required both of the MinE domains. In these experiments
gfp::
minD was expressed in a
min host from pSLR22
(
Para-gfp::
minD)
and
C-terminal or N-terminal MinE fragments were expressed under
Plac control.
Coexpression of Gfp-MinD with a MinE fragment that contained the
topological specificity domain but lacked the anti-MinCD
domain
(fragment MinE
22-88, in pSY1057) did not significantly
alter the pattern that was
present in the absence of MinE (Fig.
5c). Fluorescence was predominantly
peripheral along the length of the cell, and no localized fluorescent
zones were observed. Western blots with antibody directed against
the
C-terminal region of MinE showed that the concentration of
MinE
22-88 was severalfold higher than the concentration of
full-length
MinE (MinE
1-88) in the experiments in which
Plac-minE1-88 was coexpressed with
gfp::
minD (data not shown). Therefore,
the
failure of the C-terminal MinE domain to affect the Gfp-MinD
pattern
was not due to a lower cellular concentration of the fragment
compared with the concentration of MinE
1-88 in the
parallel experiments.

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FIG. 5.
Distribution of Gfp-MinD in the presence of MinE
fragments. Cells were grown for 4 h at 30°C in the presence of
0.005% arabinose. Fluorescence and Nomarski micrographs are shown side
by side to show the complete outline of the cells. Panels: a,
PB114/pSLR22/pSY1053
( minCDE/Para-gfp::minD/Plac-minE1-53),
fixed cells; b, PB114/pSLR22/pJPB262
( minCDE/Para-gfp::minD/Plac-minE1-32),
fixed cells; c, PB114/pSLR22/pSY1057
( minCDE/Para-gfp::minD/Plac-minE22-88),
fixed cells; d, PB114/pSLR22/pSY1053
( minCDE/Para-gfp::minD/Plac-minE1-53),
unfixed cells; and e, diagrammatic representation of Gfp-MinD zones.
Black bar, 3 µm.
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In contrast to the failure of the C-terminal MinE fragment to change
the Gfp-MinD distribution pattern, N-terminal fragments
MinE
1-32 and MinE
1-53, which contain the
anti-MinCD domain but lack the topological
specificity domain, did
significantly alter the distribution pattern
of Gfp-MinD. In these
cases, instead of the pattern of peripheral
fluorescence that was
characteristic of cells that expressed
gfp::
minD in the absence of MinE,
cells that coexpressed Gfp-MinD with MinE
1-32 or
MinE
1-53 contained long fluorescent zones at the cell pole
(Fig.
5a and
b). These were present in most cells in the population and
were
similar in appearance to the polar zones in cells that coexpressed
gfp::
minD and full-length
minE (Fig.
3). The pattern was the same
when expression of
the N-terminal MinE fragments was varied over
a wide range by growth at
IPTG concentrations ranging from 0 to
2
mM.
The pattern was the same in fixed and unfixed cells (Fig.
5a and d),
indicating the polar zones of fluorescence were not fixation
artifacts
and were not artifacts induced by UV irradiation during
examination or
by the attachment of unfixed cells to the glass
slide. In cells of
normal length (

5.0-µm cell length), the zones
were always located
at one end of the cell. In some longer cells,
fluorescent zones were
present at both poles and were sometimes
also present elsewhere along
the length of the cell. The polar
fluorescence was predominantly
peripheral, indicating that it
represented membrane-associated
Gfp-MinD. Strikingly, whenever
polar zones were present, the remainder
of the cell periphery
was essentially nonfluorescent (Fig.
5a, b, and
d). This was in
sharp contrast to cells that expressed Gfp-MinD in the
absence
of MinE, where the fluorescence was distributed around the
entire
cell periphery. This implies that the MinE fragments were
responsible
for the recruitment of essentially all of the
membrane-associated
Gfp-MinD into the polar
zones.
Studies of unfixed cells showed that the N-terminal portion of MinE
induced both the segregation of Gfp-MinD to one pole and
its subsequent
back-and-forth movement to the opposite pole (Fig.
6). The relatively slow oscillation may
reflect lower-than-optimal
ratios of MinE to MinD, which can
significantly affect the rate
of oscillation (
16). The
presence of oscillatory pole-to-pole
movement of Gfp-MinD in the
presence of MinE
1-53 indicates that the mechanisms for the
MinE-dependent polar localization
and for transpolar movement
of MinD do not require the topological
specificity domain of MinE.

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|
FIG. 6.
Pole-to-pole movement of Gfp-MinD in the presence of
MinE1-53. Strain PB114/pFX11
( minCDE/Plac-gfp::minD
minE1-53) was grown for 4 h at 30°C in the
presence of 25 µM IPTG. Unfixed cells were examined and images were
collected at 2-min intervals. One cell is followed in panels a to f. A
zone of polar fluorescence can be seen to move from the lower pole
(panel a) to the upper pole (panel d) and back to the lower pole (panel
f).
|
|
Localization of MinE-Gfp and MinE1-53-Gfp in the
presence of MinD.
Full-length MinE (as MinE-Gfp) forms a ring at
midcell when expressed in the presence of MinD (14). This
led to the suggestion that the midcell MinE ring might be responsible
for sequestering Gfp-MinD to one of the ends of the cell to form the
polar MinD zones and might also play a role in inducing disassembly of
Gfp-MinD from the polar membrane binding site and subsequent
pole-to-pole movement (16).
It has been previously shown that MinE
1-33-Gfp fails to
form midcell MinE rings (
14) although, as shown in the
present work,
MinE
1-32 was capable of inducing formation
of polar zones of MinD-Gfp.
Because MinE
1-53 also induced
the formation of polar MinD zones, we used MinE
1-53-Gfp to
determine whether MinE
1-53 was capable of forming a MinE
ring at midcell. Localization studies
in cells where
MinE
1-53-Gfp was coexpressed with MinD failed to show the
characteristic
MinE rings that are seen with full-length MinE-Gfp (Fig.
7). This
confirms that the N-terminal
MinE domain is unable to localize
at midcell in the absence of the
C-terminal topological specificity
domain, although it is capable of
inducing the redistribution
of MinD into polar zones. These results
suggest that a MinE ring
is not required for the formation of polar
zones of MinD.

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|
FIG. 7.
Localization of MinE-Gfp and MinE1-53-Gfp
in the presence of MinD. (a) Strain PB114/pAS86/pAS74
( minCDE/Para-minE::gfp/Plac-minD)
was grown in 0.0125% arabinose for 4 h. (b) Strain
PB114/pAS73/pFX1
( minCDE/Para-minD/Plac-minE1-53-gfp)
was grown in 0.005% arabinose-30 µM IPTG for 4 h. Similar
results were obtained when arabinose was varied between 0 and
0.005% and IPTG was varied between 0 and 30 µM and when the same
experiments were performed on strain DH5 /pFX1
(minC+D+E+/Plac-minE1-53-gfp).
|
|
It has not been directly shown that MinE-Gfp, and
MinE
1-33-Gfp and MinE
1-53-Gfp,
behave similarly to the non-Gfp proteins in the ability
to induce
formation of polar MinD zones. However, wild-type MinE-Gfp
can restore
a wild-type phenotype to MinE-deficient cells (reference
14 and unpublished results). Similarly,
MinE
1-53-Gfp behaved like underivatized
MinE
1-53 (
20) in its ability to induce minicell
formation in wild-type
cells (Fig.
1h, i), presumably by interacting
with MinD. These
observations suggest that the presence of the Gfp
components does
not significantly interfere with function of
full-length MinE
or the N-terminal MinE
domain.
 |
DISCUSSION |
Proper placement of the E. coli division septum
requires that MinD and MinE function cooperatively to modulate the
division potential of cellular sites that are located at midcell and at the cell poles. A MinD-MinE interaction in this process is implied by
the fact that localization of MinE at midcell requires MinD, that MinD
is required to make the MinC division inhibitor sensitive to
suppression by MinE, and that MinE is required for the formation of
MinD zones at the cell pole.
Gfp-MinD is capable of associating with the membrane around the entire
periphery of the cell in the absence of MinE and MinC, as shown by
Raskin and de Boer (16) and as confirmed in the present
study. In contrast, the membrane association of MinE (14) and MinC (9, 15) both require the presence of MinD. These observations suggest that the membrane attachment of MinD is the initial step in the membrane assembly of the Min proteins. The MinD
sequence does not include an apparent membrane-spanning domain, and
cell fractionation and immunoelectronmicroscopic studies suggest that
MinD is a peripheral membrane protein (2). This suggests that MinD is likely to interact with another membrane component that
anchors it to the membrane surface.
MinE dramatically changes the membrane distribution of MinD so that
essentially all of the membrane-associated Gfp-MinD is recruited into a
broad zone at one cell pole (reference 16 and this
study). Previous studies with Gfp-MinE (14) have shown that
MinE forms a ring near midcell under the same conditions that lead to
formation of the polar zones of MinD, raising the possibility
(16) that the midcell MinE ring plays a role in the observed
redistribution of membrane-associated MinD. The present observations
suggest that the two events, i.e., the formation of the midcell MinE
ring and the formation of polar zones of MinD, are unrelated phenomena.
Thus, in the present study the N-terminal domain of MinE, which did not
form a midcell MinE ring in studies of MinE1-53-Gfp (this
study) and MinE1-33-Gfp (14), was capable of
inducing formation of polar zones of Gfp-MinD with high efficiency.
This argues against models in which the MinE ring at midcell acts as a
gasket to sequester Gfp-MinD to one end of the cell and/or to provoke
release of Gfp-MinD from one pole so that it can move to the opposite
pole (16).
Because MinE1-53 and MinE1-34 fragments
retain their ability to counteract the division-inhibitory action of
MinCD in a MinD-dependent fashion (13, 20), it is likely
that the N-terminal MinE domain is the domain that interacts with MinD.
It is this interaction that presumably provokes the redistribution of
membrane-associated MinD to the cell pole.
We suggest the following sequence of events to explain the cooperative
actions of MinE and MinD, based on the idea that formation of the MinE
ring at midcell and formation of the MinD zone at the cell pole both
result from the lateral movement of MinD within the two-dimensional
membrane matrix. First, MinD associates with the inner surface of the
cytoplasmic membrane around the entire periphery of the cell. Second,
the N-terminal domain of MinE interacts with the membrane-associated
MinD. This recruits MinE to the membrane. We speculate that the
MinD-MinE interaction may alter MinD or its membrane attachment to
permit MinD molecules to diffuse laterally within the two-dimensional
membrane matrix, possibly in association with its putative membrane
anchor. Alternatively, MinD may always be laterally mobile within the
membrane. In this case, MinE could modify MinD to increase its affinity
for polar sites (discussed below). This alternative is perhaps less
likely since the fact that Gfp-MinD forms polar arcs in the absence of
MinE (Fig. 2a) implies that MinD has affinity for the cell pole
independently of MinE. In either case, the laterally mobile MinD
molecules are suggested to be responsible both for the formation of the
MinE ring at midcell and for the formation of the MinD polar zones. Third, when the laterally mobile MinD-MinE complex encounters the
putative topological target for MinE at midcell, the midcell target
interacts with the C-terminal topological specificity domain of MinE,
thereby anchoring MinE as a ring structure at midcell and releasing it
from its MinD carrier. This finding is consistent with the observation
that the topological specificity domain is required for formation of
the midcell MinE ring. Fourth, unrelated to formation of the MinE ring,
the collision of laterally mobile MinD molecules with a hypothetical
membrane-associated nucleation site adjacent to a cell pole leads to
formation of a side-by-side array of MinD molecules (the polar zone)
whose assembly depends on collisional interactions within the membrane
matrix. The two-dimensional MinD lattice would be expected to grow and
coalesce until most or all of the mobile membrane-associated MinD
molecules were captured by collision with the polar lattice. This would
explain the striking observation that only a single Gfp-MinD zone was
present in most cells, with no visible fluorescence elsewhere in the membrane.
The fact that the MinD zone is apparently formed at only one pole might
reflect a rapid MinD assembly process following the initial interaction
with one of the polar nucleation sites, a process similar to the
cooperative assembly process suggested by Raskin and de Boer
(16). The forces that capture and retain MinD molecules
within the polar zone have yet to be defined. The lattice could be
based on direct interactions between MinD molecules or could involve
the noncovalent cross-linking of MinD molecules or oligomers by another
component that would also be part of the polar lattice structure. The
suggested model invokes lateral diffusion of MinD molecules as the key
event in the formation of the MinD polar zones and in the
MinD-facilitated formation of the midcell MinE ring. The possibility
also exists that the lateral translocation event might in part be an
active process in which MinE modifies MinD into a form that can be
actively translocated along the membrane.
A precedent for the capture of mobile membrane molecules into a single
structure exists in the well-established ability of antibody molecules
or lectins to induce the redistribution of eucaryotic
membrane-associated surface proteins by noncovalently crosslinking them
into "patches" and "caps" that are reminiscent of the Gfp-MinD
structures described here (7, 12, 18). Ultimately, all of
the proteins are captured into a single large domain, one analogous to
the Gfp-MinD zones that are formed at the cell pole.
In an entirely different type of model, MinD would move directly from
the cytoplasm to the polar membrane sites after its interaction with
MinE. This cannot be excluded although it would require a second
mechanism to explain the requirement for MinD in formation of the
midcell MinE ring. Further work will be needed to distinguish between
these and other possible models.
 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of
Health to L.I.R. (GM41978 and GM53276). S.L.R. was a Long Term Fellow
of the Human Frontiers Science Program.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington,
CT 06032. Phone: (860) 679-3581. Fax: (860) 679-1239. E-mail:
lroth{at}panda.uchc.edu.
Present address: Department of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ 08854.
 |
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Journal of Bacteriology, February 2000, p. 613-619, Vol. 182, No. 3
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
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