Multiple ParA/MinD ATPases coordinate the positioning of disparate cargos in a bacterial cell

Abstract

In eukaryotes, linear motor proteins govern intracellular transport and organization. In bacteria, where linear motors involved in spatial regulation are absent, the ParA/MinD family of ATPases organize an array of genetic- and protein-based cellular cargos. The positioning of these cargos has been independently investigated to varying degrees in several bacterial species. However, it remains unclear how multiple ParA/MinD ATPases can coordinate the positioning of diverse cargos in the same cell. Here, we find that over a third of sequenced bacterial genomes encode multiple ParA/MinD ATPases. We identify an organism (Halothiobacillus neapolitanus) with seven ParA/MinD ATPases, demonstrate that five of these are each dedicated to the spatial regulation of a single cellular cargo, and define potential specificity determinants for each system. Furthermore, we show how these positioning reactions can influence each other, stressing the importance of understanding how organelle trafficking, chromosome segregation, and cell division are coordinated in bacterial cells. Together, our data show how multiple ParA/MinD ATPases coexist and function to position a diverse set of fundamental cargos in the same bacterial cell.

MinD2 modulates cell shape and motility in the archaeonHaloferax volcanii

“…For example, ParA proteins are involved in plasmid partitioning and chromosome segregation (Baxter and Funnell, 2014;Jalal and Le, 2020), while MinD is known for its role in regulating the placement of the bacterial divisome (Lutkenhaus, 2007). However, ParA/MinD proteins are not restricted to these functions and have been shown to modulate the positioning of several other cellular components, including flagella (Pulianmackal et al, 2023), chemotaxis systems (Ringgaard et al, 2011), and the conjugation machinery (Atmakuri et al, 2007).…”