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A DNA ‐binding protein defines the precise region of chromosome capture during B acillus sporulation
Author(s) -
Miller Allyssa K.,
Brown Emily E.,
Mercado Benjamin T.,
Herman Jennifer K.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/mmi.13217
Subject(s) - biology , bacillus subtilis , chromosome segregation , nucleoid , chromosome , dna , genetics , cell division , dna binding protein , mutant , microbiology and biotechnology , cell , transcription factor , gene , bacteria , escherichia coli
Summary During sporulation, B acillus subtilis divides around the nucleoid near one cell pole, initially capturing approximately one quarter of one chromosome in the newly formed forespore compartment. While it is known that a specific region of the nucleoid is reproducibly captured in the forespore, the mechanism underlying the precision of capture is unknown. Here we describe a role for RefZ , a DNA ‐binding protein that regulates FtsZ , and its cognate binding motifs ( RBM s ) in defining the specific region of chromosome initially captured in the forespore. RefZ is conserved across the B acillus genus and remains functional as an inhibitor of cell division in a species‐swapping experiment. The RBM s are also conserved in their positioning relative to ori C across B acillus , suggesting that the function of the RBM s is both important and position‐dependent in the genus. In B . subtilis , the RBM s flank the region of the chromosome captured at the time of cell division, and we find that RefZ binds the five ori C ‐proximal RBM s with similar apparent affinity in units of two and four. ref Z and RBM mutants capture chromosomal regions normally excluded from the forespore, suggesting that RefZ ‐ RBM complexes play a role in regulating the position of cell division relative to the chromosome during sporulation.