PNAS paper for Henrik Strahl von Schulten and Leendert Hamoen
Published online before print June 21, 2010, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1005485107
PNAS Early Edition
Membrane potential is important for bacterial cell division
Henrik Strahl and Leendert W. Hamoen
Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle NE2 4AX, United Kingdom; Edited by Piet A. de Boer, Case School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, and accepted by the Editorial Board May 27, 2010 (received for review April 21, 2010)
Many cell division-related proteins are located at specific positions in the bacterial cell, and this organized distribution of proteins requires energy. Here, we report that the proton motive force, ormorespecifically the (trans)membrane potential, is directly involved in protein localization. It emerged that the membrane potential modulates the distribution of several conserved cell division proteins such as MinD, FtsA, and the bacterial cytoskeletal protein MreB. We show for MinD that this is based on the membrane potential stimulated binding of its C-terminal amphipathic helix. This function of the membrane potential has implications for how these morphogenetic proteins work and provide an explanation for the effects observed with certain antimicrobial compounds.published on: 28th June 2010
