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Review
. 1999 May 25;96(11):5891-3.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.96.11.5891.

Bacterial cell division: a moveable feast

C Jacobs  1 , L Shapiro
Affiliations
Review

Bacterial cell division: a moveable feast

C Jacobs et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .
No abstract available

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Models for division-site selection in E. coli (Left) and B. subtilis (Right). MinD is in blue, MinE in yellow, FtsZ in green and DivIV in red. Shown are different stages of the cell cycle, beginning with a newborn cell and finishing with cell division that produces two daughter cells. (Left) In E. coli, MinE localizes to a ring-like structure at or near the middle of the cell early in the division cycle. MinD accumulates alternately at the membrane periphery on either side of the MinE ring (3). The alternation of MinD localization from one pole to the other occurs at a frequency of the order of tens of seconds. The rapid relocation of MinD ensures that no FtsZ ring is assembled at either the ¼ or ¾ sites in the cell halves. The presence of MinE at midcell prevents the MinD inhibitory activity at this site, allowing assembly of the FtsZ ring at this site. The MinE ring disassembles before completion of constriction. (Right) In B. subtilis, DivIVA and MinD are localized to the cell poles in a newborn cell, and therefore the presence of the MinD inhibitor prevents the formation of the FtsZ ring at these sites. Later, presumably after completion of DNA replication, a new potential division site is created at midcell. The sequestration of the MinD inhibitor to the poles allows assembly of the FtsZ ring at midcell and recruitment of other cell division proteins. At this point, the division machinery presumably becomes resistant to the MinD inhibition. DivIVA and MinD proteins then are recruited to the midcell. Constriction then is initiated. When constriction is completed, the FtsZ ring disassembles, but DivIVA and MinD remain at the newly formed poles, preventing further divisions from taking place in these polar sites.
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Comment on

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