Abstract
The par2 locus of Escherichia coli plasmid pB171 encodes oscillating ATPase ParA, DNA binding protein ParB and two cis-acting DNA regions to which ParB binds (parC1 and parC2). Three independent techniques were used to investigate the subcellular localization of plasmids carrying par2. In cells with a single plasmid focus, the focus located preferentially at mid-cell. In cells with two foci, these located at quarter-cell positions. In the absence of ParB and parC1/parC2, ParA-GFP formed stationary helices extending from one end of the nucleoid to the other. In the presence of ParB and parC1/parC2, ParA-GFP oscillated in spiral-shaped structures. Amino acid substitutions in ParA simultaneously abolished ParA spiral formation, oscillation and either plasmid localization or plasmid separation at mid-cell. Therefore, our results suggest that ParA spirals position plasmids at the middle of the bacterial nucleoid and subsequently separate them into daughter cells.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Molecular Microbiology |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Pages (from-to) | 385-398 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| ISSN | 0950-382X |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |