Author:
Chareyre Sylvia,Li Xuesong,Anjuwon-Foster Brandon R.,Clifford Sarah,Brogan Anna,Su Yijun,Shroff Hari,Ramamurthi Kumaran S.
Abstract
ABSTRACTWhen faced with starvation, the bacteriumBacillus subtilistransforms itself into a dormant cell type called a "spore". Sporulation initiates with an asymmetric division event, which requires the relocation of the core divisome components FtsA and FtsZ, after which the sigma factor σFis exclusively activated in the smaller daughter cell. Compartment specific activation of σFrequires the SpoIIE phosphatase, which displays a biased localization on one side of the asymmetric division septum and associates with the structural protein DivIVA, but the mechanism by which this preferential localization is achieved is unclear. Here, we isolated a variant of DivIVA that indiscriminately activates σFin both daughter cells due to promiscuous localization of SpoIIE, which was corrected by overproduction of FtsA and FtsZ. We propose that a unique feature of the sporulation septum, defined by the cell division machinery, drives the asymmetric localization of DivIVA and SpoIIE to trigger the initiation of the sporulation program.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory