Work

Interdependent YpsA- and YfhS-Mediated Cell Division and Cell Size Phenotypes in Bacillus subtilis

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: Bacillus subtilis is a rod-shaped Gram-positive model organism. The factors fundamental to the maintenance of cell shape and cell division are of major interest. We show that increased expression of ypsA results in cell division inhibition and impairment of colony formation on solid medium. Colonies that do arise possess compensatory suppressor mutations. We have isolated multiple intragenic (within ypsA ) mutants and an extragenic suppressor mutant. Further analysis of the extragenic suppressor mutation led to a protein of unknown function, YfhS, which appears to play a role in regulating cell size. In addition to confirming that the cell division phenotype associated with YpsA is disrupted in a yfhS -null strain, we also discovered that the cell size phenotype of the yfhS knockout mutant is abolished in a strain that also lacks ypsA . This highlights a potential mechanistic link between these two proteins; however, the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be elucidated.

Source: mSphere

DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00655-20