Osawa Masaki, Anderson David E, Erickson Harold P
Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710-3709, USA.
Science. 2008 May 9;320(5877):792-4. doi: 10.1126/science.1154520. Epub 2008 Apr 17.
FtsZ is a tubulin homolog and the major cytoskeletal protein in bacterial cell division. It assembles into the Z ring, which contains FtsZ and a dozen other division proteins, and constricts to divide the cell. We have constructed a membrane-targeted FtsZ (FtsZ-mts) by splicing an amphipathic helix to its C terminus. When mixed with lipid vesicles, FtsZ-mts was incorporated into the interior of some tubular vesicles. There it formed multiple Z rings that could move laterally in both directions along the length of the liposome and coalesce into brighter Z rings. Brighter Z rings produced visible constrictions in the liposome, suggesting that FtsZ itself can assemble the Z ring and generate a force. No other proteins were needed for assembly and force generation.
FtsZ是一种微管蛋白同源物,是细菌细胞分裂中的主要细胞骨架蛋白。它组装成Z环,Z环包含FtsZ和其他十几种分裂蛋白,并收缩以分裂细胞。我们通过在其C末端拼接一个两亲性螺旋构建了一种膜靶向FtsZ(FtsZ-mts)。当与脂质囊泡混合时,FtsZ-mts被整合到一些管状囊泡内部。在那里它形成了多个Z环,这些Z环可以沿着脂质体的长度在两个方向上横向移动并聚合成更亮的Z环。更亮的Z环在脂质体中产生可见的收缩,表明FtsZ本身可以组装Z环并产生力。组装和产生力不需要其他蛋白质。