Helical Tubes of FtsZ from Methanococcus jannaschii
-
Jan Löwe
Abstract
Bacterial cell division depends on the formation of a cytokinetic ring structure, the Z-ring. The bacterial tubulin homologue FtsZ is required for Z-ring formation. FtsZ assembles into various polymeric forms in vitro, indicating a structural role in the septum of bacteria. We have used recombinant FtsZ1 protein from M. jannaschii to produce helical tubes and sheets with high yield using the GTP analogue GMPCPP [guanylyl-(α,β)-methylene-diphosphate]. The sheets appear identical to the previously reported Ca++-induced sheets of FtsZ from M. jannaschii that were shown to consist of ‘thick’-filaments in which two protofilaments run in parallel. Tubes assembled either in Ca++ or in GMPCPP contain filaments whose dimensions indicate that they could be equivalent to the ‘thick’-filaments in sheets. Some tubes are hollow but others are filled by additional protein density. Helical FtsZ tubes differ from eukaryotic microtubules in that the filaments curve around the filament axis with a pitch of ~ 430 Å for Ca++-induced tubes or 590–620 Å for GMPCPP. However, their assembly in vitro as well-ordered polymers over distances comparable to the inner circumference of a bacterium may indicate a role in vivo. Their size and stability make them suitable for use in motility assays.
Copyright © 2000 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG
Articles in the same Issue
- Alexander J. Varshavsky Felix Hoppe-Seyler Lecturer 2000
- The Ubiquitin System and the N-End Rule Pathway
- Paper of the Year 1999: Award to Igor Stagljar
- A Clockwork Organ
- The Transgeneticists Toolbox: Novel Methods for the Targeted Modification of Eukaryotic Genomes
- Interdependence of Filamentous Actin and Microtubules for Asymmetric Cell Division
- Genetic Analysis of Mammalian Cyclin-Dependent Kinases and Their Inhibitors
- Phosphorylcholine Substituents in Nematodes: Structures, Occurrence and Biological Implications
- Selenium in Biology: Facts and Medical Perspectives
- The Role of Se, Mo and Fe in the Structure and Function of Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase
- Molecular Basis for Interactions of the DnaK Chaperone with Substrates
- Protein Import: the Hitchhikers Guide into Chloroplasts
- Pathway Analysis and Metabolic Engineering in Corynebacterium glutamicum
- Metabolic Networks: a Signal-Oriented Approach to Cellular Models
- Representing and Analysing Molecular and Cellular Function Using the Computer
- Protein Aggregation and Pathogenesis of Huntingtons Disease: Mechanisms and Correlations
- The Mitochondrial Protein Import Motor
- The Immunoglobulin κ Gene Families of Human and Mouse: a Cottage Industry Approach
- Protein-Protein Interactions in Receptor Activation and Intracellular Signalling
- Molecular Genetic Analysis of Glucocorticoid Signaling Using the Cre/loxP System
- Macromolecular Intelligence in Microorganisms
- Thyroid Hormone Receptors Bind to an Element in the Connexin43 Promoter
- Analysis of the Deubiquitinating Enzymes of the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- Helical Tubes of FtsZ from Methanococcus jannaschii
- Surface Topography of Microtubule Walls Decorated with Monomeric and Dimeric Kinesin Constructs
- Histone Deacetylase Activity Is Required for the Induction of the MyoD Muscle Cell Lineage in Xenopus
- The Effect of Heat Shock on 20S/26S Proteasomes
- Sec61p Is the Main Ribosome Receptor in the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Articles in the same Issue
- Alexander J. Varshavsky Felix Hoppe-Seyler Lecturer 2000
- The Ubiquitin System and the N-End Rule Pathway
- Paper of the Year 1999: Award to Igor Stagljar
- A Clockwork Organ
- The Transgeneticists Toolbox: Novel Methods for the Targeted Modification of Eukaryotic Genomes
- Interdependence of Filamentous Actin and Microtubules for Asymmetric Cell Division
- Genetic Analysis of Mammalian Cyclin-Dependent Kinases and Their Inhibitors
- Phosphorylcholine Substituents in Nematodes: Structures, Occurrence and Biological Implications
- Selenium in Biology: Facts and Medical Perspectives
- The Role of Se, Mo and Fe in the Structure and Function of Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase
- Molecular Basis for Interactions of the DnaK Chaperone with Substrates
- Protein Import: the Hitchhikers Guide into Chloroplasts
- Pathway Analysis and Metabolic Engineering in Corynebacterium glutamicum
- Metabolic Networks: a Signal-Oriented Approach to Cellular Models
- Representing and Analysing Molecular and Cellular Function Using the Computer
- Protein Aggregation and Pathogenesis of Huntingtons Disease: Mechanisms and Correlations
- The Mitochondrial Protein Import Motor
- The Immunoglobulin κ Gene Families of Human and Mouse: a Cottage Industry Approach
- Protein-Protein Interactions in Receptor Activation and Intracellular Signalling
- Molecular Genetic Analysis of Glucocorticoid Signaling Using the Cre/loxP System
- Macromolecular Intelligence in Microorganisms
- Thyroid Hormone Receptors Bind to an Element in the Connexin43 Promoter
- Analysis of the Deubiquitinating Enzymes of the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- Helical Tubes of FtsZ from Methanococcus jannaschii
- Surface Topography of Microtubule Walls Decorated with Monomeric and Dimeric Kinesin Constructs
- Histone Deacetylase Activity Is Required for the Induction of the MyoD Muscle Cell Lineage in Xenopus
- The Effect of Heat Shock on 20S/26S Proteasomes
- Sec61p Is the Main Ribosome Receptor in the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
