The essential cell division protein FtsN contains a critical disulfide bond in a non‐essential domain

Summary Disulfide bonds are found in many proteins associated with the cell wall of Escherichia coli, and for some of these proteins the disulfide bond is critical to their stability and function. One protein found to contain a disulfide bond is the essential cell division protein FtsN, but the impo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular microbiology 2017-02, Vol.103 (3), p.413-422
Main Authors: Meehan, Brian M., Landeta, Cristina, Boyd, Dana, Beckwith, Jon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cell division
Cell Division - physiology
Cell Wall - metabolism
Chemical bonds
Disulfides
E coli
Escherichia coli - metabolism
Escherichia coli Proteins - genetics
Escherichia coli Proteins - metabolism
Escherichia coli Proteins - physiology
Membrane Proteins - genetics
Membrane Proteins - metabolism
Membrane Proteins - physiology
Protein Binding
Protein Domains
Proteins
Structure-Activity Relationship
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Summary:Summary Disulfide bonds are found in many proteins associated with the cell wall of Escherichia coli, and for some of these proteins the disulfide bond is critical to their stability and function. One protein found to contain a disulfide bond is the essential cell division protein FtsN, but the importance of this bond to the protein's structural integrity is unclear. While it evidently plays a role in the proper folding of the SPOR domain of FtsN, this domain is non‐essential, suggesting that the disulfide bond might also be dispensable. However, we find that FtsN mutants lacking cysteines give rise to filamentous growth. Furthermore, FtsN protein levels in strains expressing these mutants were significantly lower than in a strain expressing the wild‐type allele, as were FtsN levels in strains incapable of making disulfide bonds (dsb‐) exposed to anaerobic conditions. These results strongly suggest that FtsN lacking a disulfide bond is unstable, thereby making this disulfide critical for function. We have previously found that dsb‐ strains fail to grow anaerobically, and the results presented here suggest that this growth defect may be due in part to misfolded FtsN. Thus, proper cell division in E. coli is dependent upon disulfide bond formation. Mutations in the essential cell division protein FtsN that render it incapable of forming a disulfide bond lead to filamentous growth of E. coli. Formation of this disulfide bond can be catalyzed by the Dsb enzymatic system or it can be introduced spontaneously through growth in an aerobic environment.
ISSN:0950-382X
1365-2958
DOI:10.1111/mmi.13565