Authors
Laura C Bohorquez, Henrik Strahl, Davide Marenduzzo, Martin J Thiele, Frank Burmann, Leendert Hamoen
Published in
eLife. Volume 13. Sep 02, 2026. Epub Sep 02, 2026.
Abstract
Proteins can diffuse micrometers in seconds, yet bacterial cells are able to maintain stable protein gradients. The best-studied bacterial protein gradient is the Min system of Escherichia coli. In rod-shaped bacteria, the MinCD proteins prevent formation of minicells by inhibiting FtsZ polymerization close to the cell poles. In E. coli, these proteins oscillate between cell poles within a minute, resulting in an increased MinCD concentration at the poles. This oscillation is caused by the interaction between MinD and the protein MinE, which form an ATP-driven reaction-diffusion system, whereby the ATPase MinD cycles between a monomeric cytosolic and a dimeric membrane-attached state. Bacillus subtilis also has MinCD, but lacks MinE. In this case, MinCD forms a static gradient that requires the transmembrane protein MinJ, located at cell poles and cell division sites. A recent reaction-diffusion model was successful in recreating the MinD gradient in B. subtilis, assuming that MinD cycles between cytosol and membrane, like in E. coli. Here, we show that the monomeric and dimeric states of B. subtilis MinD have comparable membrane affinities, that MinD interacts with MinJ as a dimer, and that MinJ is not required for membrane localization of MinD. Based on these new findings, we tested different models, using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, and found that a difference in diffusion rate between the monomer and dimer, rather than a difference in membrane affinity, is important for B. subtilis MinCD gradient formation.
PMID:
42683606
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 02 Sep 2026.
Read full publication at:
Please sign in
to see all details.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 7
- Comments 0