Spatial gradient of protein phosphorylation underlies replicative bacterium
Name
Chen-2011-jan-Spatial gradient of protein phosphorylation underlies replicative bacterium.pdf
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Author(s)
Chen, Y. Erin
Tropini, Carolina
Jonas, Kristina
Tsokos, Christos G.
Huang, Kerwyn Casey
Laub, Michael T
Date Issued
January 2011
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Citation
Chen, Y. Erin et al. “Spatial Gradient of Protein Phosphorylation Underlies Replicative Asymmetry in a Bacterium.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108.3 (2011) : 1052 -1057. Copyright ©2011 by the National Academy of Sciences
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Final published version
Abstract
Spatial asymmetry is crucial to development. One mechanism for generating asymmetry involves the localized synthesis of a key regulatory protein that diffuses away from its source, forming a spatial gradient. Although gradients are prevalent in eukaryotes, at both the tissue and intracellular levels, it is unclear whether gradients of freely diffusible proteins can form within bacterial cells given their small size and the speed of diffusion. Here, we show that the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus generates a gradient of the active, phosphorylated form of the master regulator CtrA, which directly regulates DNA replication. Using a combination of mathematical modeling, single-cell microscopy, and genetic manipulation, we demonstrate that this gradient is produced by the polarly localized phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of CtrA. Our data indicate that cells robustly establish the asymmetric fates of daughter cells before cell division causes physical compartmentalization. More generally, our results demonstrate that uniform protein abundance may belie gradients and other sophisticated spatial patterns of protein activity in bacterial cells.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1015397108
