Issue 12, 2014

Torsion and curvature of FtsZ filaments

Abstract

FtsZ filaments participate in bacterial cell division, but it is still not clear how their dynamic polymerization and shape exert force on the underlying membrane. We present a theoretical description of individual filaments that incorporates information from molecular dynamic simulations. The structure of the crystallized Methanococcus jannaschii FtsZ dimer was used to model a FtsZ pentamer that showed a curvature and a twist. The estimated bending and torsion angles between monomers and their fluctuations were included in the theoretical description. The MD data also permitted positioning the curvature with respect to the protein coordinates and allowed us to explore the effect of the relative orientation of the preferred curvature with respect to the surface plane. We find that maximum tension is attained when filaments are firmly attached and oriented with their curvature perpendicular to the surface and that the twist serves as a valve to release or to tighten the tension exerted by the curved filaments on the membrane. The theoretical model also shows that the presence of torsion can explain the shape distribution of short filaments observed by Atomic Force Microscopy in previously published experiments. New experiments with FtsZ covalently attached to lipid membranes show that the filament on-plane curvature depends on lipid head charge, confirming the predicted monomer orientation effects. This new model underlines the fact that the combination of the three elements, filament curvature, twist and the strength and orientation of its surface attachment, can modulate the force exerted on the membrane during cell division.

Graphical abstract: Torsion and curvature of FtsZ filaments

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Sep 2013
Accepted
18 Dec 2013
First published
19 Dec 2013

Soft Matter, 2014,10, 1977-1986

Torsion and curvature of FtsZ filaments

P. González de Prado Salas, I. Hörger, F. Martín-García, J. Mendieta, Á. Alonso, M. Encinar, P. Gómez-Puertas, M. Vélez and P. Tarazona, Soft Matter, 2014, 10, 1977 DOI: 10.1039/C3SM52516C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements