Spatial gradient of protein phosphorylation underlies replicative bacterium
Author(s)
Chen, Y. Erin; Tropini, Carolina; Jonas, Kristina; Tsokos, Christos G.; Huang, Kerwyn Casey; Laub, Michael T; ... Show more Show less
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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.
Date issued
2011-01Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of BiologyJournal
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
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0027-8424
1091-6490