This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
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 Kemp, J. T.
Right arrow Articles by Losick, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kemp, J. T.
Right arrow Articles by Losick, R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2002, p. 3856-3863, Vol. 184, No. 14
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.14.3856-3863.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

FtsA Mutants of Bacillus subtilis Impaired in Sporulation

Jennifer T. Kemp,1,{dagger} Adam Driks,2 and Richard Losick1*

The Biological Laboratories, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138,1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois 601532

Received 23 January 2002/ Accepted 22 April 2002

Spore formation in Bacillus subtilis involves a switch in the site of cell division from the midcell to a polar position. Both medial division and polar division are mediated in part by the actin-like, cytokinetic protein FtsA. We report the isolation of an FtsA mutant (FtsAD265G) that is defective in sporulation but is apparently unimpaired in vegetative growth. Sporulating cells of the mutant reach the stage of asymmetric division but are partially blocked in the subsequent morphological process of engulfment. As judged by fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy, the FtsAD265G mutant produces normal-looking medial septa but immature (abnormally thin) polar septa. The mutant was unimpaired in transcription under the control of Spo0A, the master regulator for entry into sporulation, but was defective in transcription under the control of {sigma}F, a regulatory protein whose activation is known to depend on polar division. An amino acid substitution at a residue (Y264) adjacent to D265 also caused a defect in sporulation. D265 and Y264 are conserved among endospore-forming bacteria, raising the possibility that these residues are involved in a sporulation-specific protein interaction that facilitates maturation of the sporulation septum and the activation of {sigma}F.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: The Biological Laboratories, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138. Phone: (617) 495-4905. Fax: (617) 496-4642. E-mail: losick{at}biosun.harvard.edu.

{dagger} Present address: Stanford Genome Technology Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304.

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2002, p. 3856-3863, Vol. 184, No. 14
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.14.3856-3863.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Thompson, L. S., Beech, P. L., Real, G., Henriques, A. O., Harry, E. J. (2006). Requirement for the Cell Division Protein DivIB in Polar Cell Division and Engulfment during Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 188: 7677-7685 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Jensen, S. O., Thompson, L. S., Harry, E. J. (2005). Cell Division in Bacillus subtilis: FtsZ and FtsA Association Is Z-Ring Independent, and FtsA Is Required for Efficient Midcell Z-Ring Assembly. J. Bacteriol. 187: 6536-6544 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Feucht, A., Errington, J. (2005). ftsZ mutations affecting cell division frequency, placement and morphology in Bacillus subtilis. Microbiology 151: 2053-2064 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Carniol, K., Eichenberger, P., Losick, R. (2004). A Threshold Mechanism Governing Activation of the Developmental Regulatory Protein {sigma}F in Bacillus subtilis. J. Biol. Chem. 279: 14860-14870 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Alsaker, K. V., Spitzer, T. R., Papoutsakis, E. T. (2004). Transcriptional Analysis of spo0A Overexpression in Clostridium acetobutylicum and Its Effect on the Cell's Response to Butanol Stress. J. Bacteriol. 186: 1959-1971 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Tomas, C. A., Welker, N. E., Papoutsakis, E. T. (2003). Overexpression of groESL in Clostridium acetobutylicum Results in Increased Solvent Production and Tolerance, Prolonged Metabolism, and Changes in the Cell's Transcriptional Program. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 4951-4965 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Tomas, C. A., Alsaker, K. V., Bonarius, H. P. J., Hendriksen, W. T., Yang, H., Beamish, J. A., Paredes, C. J., Papoutsakis, E. T. (2003). DNA Array-Based Transcriptional Analysis of Asporogenous, Nonsolventogenic Clostridium acetobutylicum Strains SKO1 and M5. J. Bacteriol. 185: 4539-4547 [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»