SummaryThe tubulin homologue FtsZ is well known for its essential function in bacterial cell division. Here, we show that in Caulobacter crescentus, FtsZ also plays a major role in cell elongation by spatially regulating the location of MurG, which produces the essential lipid II peptidoglycan cell wall precursor. The early assembly of FtsZ into a highly mobile ring-like structure during cell elongation is quickly followed by the recruitment of MurG and a major redirection of peptidoglycan precursor synthesis to the midcell region. These FtsZ-dependent events occur well before cell constriction and contribute to cell elongation. In the absence of FtsZ, MurG fails to accumulate near midcell and cell elongation proceeds unperturbed in appearance by insertion of peptidoglycan material along the entire sidewalls. Evidence suggests that bacteria use both a FtsZ-independent and a FtsZdependent mode of peptidoglycan synthesis to elongate, the importance of each mode depending on the timing of FtsZ assembly during elongation.

The cytoskeleton is a key regulator of cell morphogenesis. Crescentin, a bacterial intermediate filament-like protein, is required for the curved shape of Caulobacter crescentus and localizes to the inner cell curvature. Here, we show that crescentin forms a single filamentous structure that collapses into a helix when detached from the cell membrane, suggesting that it is normally maintained in a stretched configuration. Crescentin causes an elongation rate gradient around the circumference of the sidewall, creating a longitudinal cell length differential and hence curvature. Such curvature can be produced by physical force alone when cells are grown in circular microchambers. Production of crescentin in Escherichia coli is sufficient to generate cell curvature. Our data argue for a model in which physical strain borne by the crescentin structure anisotropically alters the kinetics of cell wall insertion to produce curved growth. Our study suggests that bacteria may use the cytoskeleton for mechanical control of growth to alter morphology.

MreB, the bacterial actin-like cytoskeleton, is required for the rod morphology of many bacterial species. Disruption of MreB function results in loss of rod morphology and cell rounding. Here, we show that the widely used MreB inhibitor A22 causes MreB-independent growth inhibition that varies with the drug concentration, culture medium conditions, and bacterial species tested. MP265, an A22 structural analog, is less toxic than A22 for growth yet equally efficient for disrupting the MreB cytoskeleton. The action of A22 and MP265 is enhanced by basic pH of the culture medium. Using this knowledge and the rapid reversibility of drug action, we examined the restoration of rod shape in lemon-shaped Caulobacter crescentus cells pretreated with MP265 or A22 under nontoxic conditions. We found that reversible restoration of MreB function after drug removal causes extensive morphological changes including a remarkable cell thinning accompanied with elongation, cell branching, and shedding of outer membrane vesicles. We also thoroughly characterized the composition of C. crescentus peptidoglycan by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry and showed that MreB disruption and recovery of rod shape following restoration of MreB function are accompanied by considerable changes in composition. Our results provide insight into MreB function in peptidoglycan remodeling and rod shape morphogenesis and suggest that MreB promotes the transglycosylase activity of penicillinbinding proteins.

Crescentin, which is the founding member of a rapidly growing family of bacterial cytoskeletal proteins, was previously proposed to resemble eukaryotic intermediate filament (IF) proteins based on structural prediction and in vitro polymerization properties. Here, we demonstrate that crescentin also shares in vivo properties of assembly and dynamics with IF proteins by forming stable filamentous structures that continuously incorporate subunits along their length and that grow in a nonpolar fashion. De novo assembly of crescentin is biphasic and involves a cell size-dependent mechanism that controls the length of the structure by favoring lateral insertion of crescentin subunits over bipolar longitudinal extension when the structure ends reach the cell poles. The crescentin structure is stably anchored to the cell envelope, and this cellular organization requires MreB function, identifying a new function for MreB and providing a parallel to the role of actin in IF assembly and organization in metazoan cells. Additionally, analysis of an MreB localization mutant suggests that cell wall insertion during cell elongation normally occurs along two helices of opposite handedness, each counterbalancing the other's torque.[Keywords: Crescentin; Caulobacter crescentus; intermediate filament; MreB; in vivo assembly; dynamics] Supplemental material is available at http://www.genesdev.org.

Chromosome replication in Escherichia coli is initiated from a single origin, oriC. Initiation involves a number of DNA binding proteins, but only DnaA is essential and specific for the initiation process. DnaA is an AAA+ protein that binds both ATP and ADP with similar high affinities. DnaA associated with either ATP or ADP binds to a set of strong DnaA binding sites in oriC, whereas only DnaAATP is capable of binding additional and weaker sites to promote initiation. Additional DNA binding proteins act to ensure that initiation occurs timely by affecting either the cellular mass at which DNA replication is initiated, or the time window in which all origins present in a single cell are initiated, i.e. initiation synchrony, or both. Overall, these DNA binding proteins modulate the initiation frequency from oriC by: (i) binding directly to oriC to affect DnaA binding, (ii) altering the DNA topology in or around oriC, (iii) altering the nucleotide bound status of DnaA by interacting with non-coding chromosomal sequences, distant from oriC, that are important for DnaA activity. Thus, although DnaA is the key protein for initiation of replication, other DNA-binding proteins act not only on oriC for modulation of its activity but also at additional regulatory sites to control the nucleotide bound status of DnaA. Here we review the contribution of key DNA binding proteins to the tight regulation of chromosome replication in E. coli cells.