Chlamydial MreB Directs Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Synthesis in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Escherichia coli</named-content> in the Absence of FtsZ Activity

ABSTRACT Cell division is the ultimate process for the propagation of bacteria, and FtsZ is an essential protein used by nearly all bacteria for this function. Chlamydiae belong to a small group of bacteria that lack the universal cell division protein FtsZ but still divide by binary fission. Chlamy...

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Autores principales:	Dev K. Ranjit, George W. Liechti, Anthony T. Maurelli
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2020
Materias:	Chlamydia MreB RodZ FtsZ cell division peptidoglycan Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/8ab6b8e4b99d43a6bd19698dee9c1941
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:8ab6b8e4b99d43a6bd19698dee9c19412021-11-15T15:56:58ZChlamydial MreB Directs Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Synthesis in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Escherichia coli</named-content> in the Absence of FtsZ Activity10.1128/mBio.03222-192150-7511https://doaj.org/article/8ab6b8e4b99d43a6bd19698dee9c19412020-02-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.03222-19https://doaj.org/toc/2150-7511ABSTRACT Cell division is the ultimate process for the propagation of bacteria, and FtsZ is an essential protein used by nearly all bacteria for this function. Chlamydiae belong to a small group of bacteria that lack the universal cell division protein FtsZ but still divide by binary fission. Chlamydial MreB is a member of the shape-determining MreB/Mbl family of proteins responsible for rod shape morphology in Escherichia coli. Chlamydia also encodes a homolog of RodZ, an MreB assembly cytoskeletal protein that links MreB to cell wall synthesis proteins. We hypothesized that MreB directs cell division in Chlamydia and that chlamydial MreB could replace FtsZ function for cell division in E. coli. Overexpression of chlamydial mreB-rodZ in E. coli induced prominent morphological changes with production of large swollen or oval bacteria, eventually resulting in bacterial lysis. Low-level expression of chlamydial mreB-rodZ restored viability of a lethal ΔmreB mutation in E. coli, although the bacteria lost their typical rod shape and grew as rounded cells. When FtsZ activity was inhibited by overexpression of SulA in the ΔmreB mutant of E. coli complemented with chlamydial mreB-rodZ, spherical E. coli grew and divided. Localization studies using a fluorescent fusion chlamydial MreB protein indicated that chlamydial RodZ directs chlamydial MreB to the E. coli division septum. These results demonstrate that chlamydial MreB, in partnership with chlamydial RodZ, acts as a cell division protein. Our findings suggest that an mreB-rodZ-based mechanism allows Chlamydia to divide without the universal division protein FtsZ. IMPORTANCE The study of Chlamydia growth and cell division is complicated by its obligate intracellular nature and biphasic lifestyle. Chlamydia also lacks the universal division protein FtsZ. We employed the cell division system of Escherichia coli as a surrogate to identify chlamydial cell division proteins. We demonstrate that chlamydial MreB, together with chlamydial RodZ, forms a cell division and growth complex that can replace FtsZ activity and support cell division in E. coli. Chlamydial RodZ plays a major role in directing chlamydial MreB localization to the cell division site. It is likely that the evolution of chlamydial MreB and RodZ to form a functional cell division complex allowed Chlamydia to dispense with its FtsZ-based cell division machinery during genome reduction. Thus, MreB-RodZ represents a possible mechanism for cell division in other bacteria lacking FtsZ.Dev K. RanjitGeorge W. LiechtiAnthony T. MaurelliAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleChlamydiaMreBRodZFtsZcell divisionpeptidoglycanMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmBio, Vol 11, Iss 1 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Chlamydia MreB RodZ FtsZ cell division peptidoglycan Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	Chlamydia MreB RodZ FtsZ cell division peptidoglycan Microbiology QR1-502 Dev K. Ranjit George W. Liechti Anthony T. Maurelli Chlamydial MreB Directs Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Synthesis in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Escherichia coli</named-content> in the Absence of FtsZ Activity
description	ABSTRACT Cell division is the ultimate process for the propagation of bacteria, and FtsZ is an essential protein used by nearly all bacteria for this function. Chlamydiae belong to a small group of bacteria that lack the universal cell division protein FtsZ but still divide by binary fission. Chlamydial MreB is a member of the shape-determining MreB/Mbl family of proteins responsible for rod shape morphology in Escherichia coli. Chlamydia also encodes a homolog of RodZ, an MreB assembly cytoskeletal protein that links MreB to cell wall synthesis proteins. We hypothesized that MreB directs cell division in Chlamydia and that chlamydial MreB could replace FtsZ function for cell division in E. coli. Overexpression of chlamydial mreB-rodZ in E. coli induced prominent morphological changes with production of large swollen or oval bacteria, eventually resulting in bacterial lysis. Low-level expression of chlamydial mreB-rodZ restored viability of a lethal ΔmreB mutation in E. coli, although the bacteria lost their typical rod shape and grew as rounded cells. When FtsZ activity was inhibited by overexpression of SulA in the ΔmreB mutant of E. coli complemented with chlamydial mreB-rodZ, spherical E. coli grew and divided. Localization studies using a fluorescent fusion chlamydial MreB protein indicated that chlamydial RodZ directs chlamydial MreB to the E. coli division septum. These results demonstrate that chlamydial MreB, in partnership with chlamydial RodZ, acts as a cell division protein. Our findings suggest that an mreB-rodZ-based mechanism allows Chlamydia to divide without the universal division protein FtsZ. IMPORTANCE The study of Chlamydia growth and cell division is complicated by its obligate intracellular nature and biphasic lifestyle. Chlamydia also lacks the universal division protein FtsZ. We employed the cell division system of Escherichia coli as a surrogate to identify chlamydial cell division proteins. We demonstrate that chlamydial MreB, together with chlamydial RodZ, forms a cell division and growth complex that can replace FtsZ activity and support cell division in E. coli. Chlamydial RodZ plays a major role in directing chlamydial MreB localization to the cell division site. It is likely that the evolution of chlamydial MreB and RodZ to form a functional cell division complex allowed Chlamydia to dispense with its FtsZ-based cell division machinery during genome reduction. Thus, MreB-RodZ represents a possible mechanism for cell division in other bacteria lacking FtsZ.
format	article
author	Dev K. Ranjit George W. Liechti Anthony T. Maurelli
author_facet	Dev K. Ranjit George W. Liechti Anthony T. Maurelli
author_sort	Dev K. Ranjit
title	Chlamydial MreB Directs Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Synthesis in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Escherichia coli</named-content> in the Absence of FtsZ Activity
title_short	Chlamydial MreB Directs Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Synthesis in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Escherichia coli</named-content> in the Absence of FtsZ Activity
title_full	Chlamydial MreB Directs Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Synthesis in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Escherichia coli</named-content> in the Absence of FtsZ Activity
title_fullStr	Chlamydial MreB Directs Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Synthesis in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Escherichia coli</named-content> in the Absence of FtsZ Activity
title_full_unstemmed	Chlamydial MreB Directs Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Synthesis in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Escherichia coli</named-content> in the Absence of FtsZ Activity
title_sort	chlamydial mreb directs cell division and peptidoglycan synthesis in <named-content content-type="genus-species">escherichia coli</named-content> in the absence of ftsz activity
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/8ab6b8e4b99d43a6bd19698dee9c1941
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Chlamydial MreB Directs Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Synthesis in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Escherichia coli</named-content> in the Absence of FtsZ Activity

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