Journal
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL
Volume 24, Issue 15, Pages 2340-2349Publisher
AMER SOC CELL BIOLOGY
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E12-10-0728
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- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [SPP1474, FOR 929]
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The maintenance of rod-cell shape in many bacteria depends on actin-like MreB proteins and several membrane proteins that interact with MreB. Using superresolution microscopy, we show that at 50-nm resolution, Bacillus subtilis MreB forms filamentous structures of length up to 3.4 mu m underneath the cell membrane, which run at angles diverging up to 40 degrees relative to the cell circumference. MreB from Escherichia coli forms at least 1.4-mu m-long filaments. MreB filaments move along various tracks with a maximal speed of 85 nm/s, and the loss of ATPase activity leads to the formation of extended and static filaments. Sub-optimal growth conditions lead to formation of patch-like structures rather than extended filaments. Coexpression of wild-type MreB with MreB mutated in the subunit interface leads to formation of shorter MreB filaments and a strong effect on cell shape, revealing a link between filament length and cell morphology. Thus MreB has an extended-filament architecture with the potential to position membrane proteins over long distances, whose localization in turn may affect the shape of the cell wall.
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