DivIVA is required for polar growth in the MreB-lacking rod-shaped actinomycete Corynebacterium glutamicum

Authors

Michal Letek
Efrén Ordóñez
José Vaquera
William Margolin
Klas Flärdh
Luis M Mateos
José A Gil

Publication Date

5-1-2008

Journal

Journal of Bacteriology

Abstract

The actinomycete Corynebacterium glutamicum grows as rod-shaped cells by zonal peptidoglycan synthesis at the cell poles. In this bacterium, experimental depletion of the polar DivIVA protein (DivIVA(Cg)) resulted in the inhibition of polar growth; consequently, these cells exhibited a coccoid morphology. This result demonstrated that DivIVA is required for cell elongation and the acquisition of a rod shape. DivIVA from Streptomyces or Mycobacterium localized to the cell poles of DivIVA(Cg)-depleted C. glutamicum and restored polar peptidoglycan synthesis, in contrast to DivIVA proteins from Bacillus subtilis or Streptococcus pneumoniae, which localized at the septum of C. glutamicum. This confirmed that DivIVAs from actinomycetes are involved in polarized cell growth. DivIVA(Cg) localized at the septum after cell wall synthesis had started and the nucleoids had already segregated, suggesting that in C. glutamicum DivIVA is not involved in cell division or chromosome segregation.

Keywords

Bacterial Proteins, Cell Cycle Proteins, Cell Division, Cell Enlargement, Cell Polarity, Corynebacterium glutamicum, Genetic Complementation Test