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Cell cycle coordination and regulation of bacterial chromosome segregation dynamics by polarly localized proteins
Author(s) -
Schofield Whitman B,
Lim Hoong Chuin,
JacobsWagner Christine
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1038/emboj.2010.207
Subject(s) - biology , chromosome segregation , dynamics (music) , chromosome , microbiology and biotechnology , cell cycle , cell cycle protein , genetics , cell division , cell , mitosis , gene , physics , acoustics
What regulates chromosome segregation dynamics in bacteria is largely unknown. Here, we show in Caulobacter crescentus that the polarity factor TipN regulates the directional motion and overall translocation speed of the parS /ParB partition complex by interacting with ParA at the new pole. In the absence of TipN, ParA structures can regenerate behind the partition complex, leading to stalls and back‐and‐forth motions of parS /ParB, reminiscent of plasmid behaviour. This extrinsic regulation of the parS /ParB/ParA system directly affects not only division site selection, but also cell growth. Other mechanisms, including the pole‐organizing protein PopZ, compensate for the defect in segregation regulation in Δ tipN cells. Accordingly, synthetic lethality of PopZ and TipN is caused by severe chromosome segregation and cell division defects. Our data suggest a mechanistic framework for adapting a self‐organizing oscillator to create motion suitable for chromosome segregation.