FtsZ-mediated spatial-temporal control over septal cell wall synthesis

Abstract

FtsZ, the tubulin-like GTPase, is the central organizer of the bacterial divisome, a macromolecular complex that synthesizes new septal cell wall and degrades old septal cell wall (made of septal peptidoglycan, sPG) to allow cell wall constriction and cytokinesis. In E. coli, it is well accepted that 1) FtsZ recruits all essential divisome proteins to the septum, including the core sPG synthase complex, FtsWI/QLB and its activator, FtsN; 2) FtsWI/QLB must complex with FtsN to produce sPG under the wild-type background; and 3) the Brownian ratcheting by treadmilling FtsZ polymers drives the directional movements of sPG synthase proteins along the septum circumference; and 4) FtsZ is essential for the early stage, but dispensable for the late stage of cell wall constriction. However, it remains unclear how FtsZ spatial-temporally organizes the divisome for robust bacterial cytokinesis throughout cell wall constriction process. Combining theoretical modeling with experiments in E. coli, we show that at the early stage during cell division, the Brownian ratcheting by FtsZ treadmilling acts both as a template to corral FtsWI/QLB and FtsN into close contacts for FtsWI/QLB-FtsN complex formation and as a conveyor to maximally homologize the septal distribution of sPG synthesis activities to avoid uneven cell wall constriction. When the septum constricts progressively, the FtsN septal density increases via binding to denuded sPG; consequently, the denuded PG-bound FtsN serves as the template to activate FtsWI/QLB for continued sPG synthesis, rendering FtsZ dispensable. Our work establishes an overarching framework that FtsZ spatial-temporally controls over septal cell wall constriction. SignificanceBacteria utilize FtsZ, the tubulin-like GTPase, to organize cell wall enzymes during cell division. FtsZ forms treadmilling polymers along the septum circumference and drives the directional movement of cell wall enzymes for robust cell wall constriction. How this role is achieved is unclear. We show that FtsZ treadmilling acts both as a template to corral cell wall enzymes into close contacts for priming and as a conveyor to homologize the septal distribution of cell wall synthesis activities for even septum constriction. These roles evolve at different stages of cell division and are modulated differentially by different bacteria; they likely define an overarching principle for robust cell division across the microbial world.