Negative membrane curvature as a cue for subcellular localization of a bacterial protein

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 106; no. 32; pp. 13541 - 13545
• Main Authors: Ramamurthi, Kumaran S, Losick, Richard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 11.08.2009; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: Bacillus subtilis; Bacillus subtilis - cytology; Bacterial proteins; Bacterial Proteins - chemistry; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Bacterial spores; Biological Sciences; Cell Cycle Proteins - chemistry; Cell Cycle Proteins - metabolism; Cell division; Cell Membrane - chemistry; Cell membranes; Cell Polarity; Cellular biology; Curvature; Cytokinesis; Daughter cells; Geodetic position; Gram-positive bacteria; Green Fluorescent Proteins - metabolism; Membranes; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Protein Transport; Proteins; Protoplasts - metabolism; Recombinant Fusion Proteins - metabolism; Septum; Spores; Subcellular Fractions - metabolism
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0906851106

Bacterial proteins often localize to distinct sites within the cell, but the primary cues that dictate localization are largely unknown. Recent evidence has shown that positive membrane curvature can serve as a cue for localization of a peripheral membrane protein. Here we report that localization of the peripheral membrane protein DivIVA is determined in whole or in part by recognition of negative membrane curvature and that regions of the protein near the N and C terminus are important for localization. DivIVA, which is a cell division protein in Bacillus subtilis, localizes principally as a ring at nascent septa and secondarily to the less negatively curved, inside surface of the hemispherical poles of the cell. When cytokinesis is prevented, DivIVA redistributes itself to, and becomes markedly enriched at, the poles. When the rod-shaped cells are converted into spheres (protoplasts) by treatment with lysozyme, DivIVA adopts a largely uniform distribution around the cell. Recognition of membrane curvature by peripheral membrane proteins could be a general strategy for protein localization in bacteria.