In long bacterial cells, the Min system can act off‐center

Abstract

In many rod-shaped bacteria, the Min system is well-known for generating a cell-pole to cell-pole standing wave oscillation with a single node at mid-cell to align cell division. In filamentous E. coli cells, the single-node standing wave transitions into a multi-nodal oscillation. These multi-nodal dynamics have largely been treated simply as an interesting byproduct of artificially elongated cells. However, a recent in vivo study by Muraleedharan et al. shows how multi-nodal Min dynamics are used to align non-mid-cell divisions in the elongated swarmer cells of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The authors propose a model where the combined actions of cell-length dependent Min dynamics, in concert with nucleoid occlusion along the cell length and regulation of FtsZ levels ensures Z ring formation and complete chromosome segregation at a single off-center position. By limiting the number of cell division events to one per cell at an off-center position, long swarmer cells are preserved within a multiplying population. The findings unveil an elegant mechanism of cell-division regulation by the Min system that allows long swarmer cells to divide without the need to 'dedifferentiate'.

Loofah-based microalgae and cyanobacteria biocomposites for intensifying carbon dioxide capture

“…S16). The implications of this for immobilised cultivation are unknown; however, similar observations have been made for S. elongatus and other bacteria with suggestions that the behaviour may regulate photosynthesis and cell division under stress [40,70,71].…”

Carboxysome Mispositioning Alters Growth, Morphology, and Rubisco Level of the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942

“…S. elongatus also elongates under dim-light stress, and then divides asymmetrically to form daughter cells of the correct size when brought back into well-lit conditions ( 65 ). The Min system has been shown to play a role in the asymmetric cell division and daughter cell sizing of filamentous E. coli ( 58 ), Vibrio parahaemolyticus ( 66 , 67 ), and S. elongatus ( 65 ). Division restoration at the poles of these filaments has recently been shown to be regulated by a combination of Min oscillations, FtsZ levels and terminus segregation, resulting in daughter cells of the right length ( 68 , 69 ).…”

Apparent simplicity and emergent robustness in bacterial cell cycle control

“…In fact, the cell length threshold at which we observed FtsZ ring formation in this current study (~2.8 μm) falls within the length interval (2-3 μm) in which depletion of MinD/C (and thus the minimum of FtsZ inhibition at midcell) first became apparent in our previous work 72 . As for the generational constraint of FtsZ ring formation, it may emerge from the fact that the oscillation of MinD/C only produces multiple minima in long (≳9 μm) cells 73 ’ 74 . Indeed, the generational constraint is abolished in the Δ minC mutant, as multiple FtsZ rings were able to form in single cells in all four tested media (Figure 5G-H).…”