Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

Super-resolution Imaging of the Bacterial Division Machinery
Published on: January 21, 2013
Essential and non-essential interactions in interactome networks: the Escherichia coli division proteins FtsQ-FtsN
L Grenga1, A Rizzo, L Paolozzi
1General Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, 'Tor Vergata' University, Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
The Escherichia coli division protein FtsQ, which plays a central role in the septosome assembly, interacts with several protein partners of the division machinery. Its interaction with FtsB and FtsL allows the formation of the trimeric complex connecting the early cytoplasmic cell division proteins with the late, essentially periplasmic, ones. Little is known about the interactions that FtsQ contracts with other divisome components, besides the fact that all are localized in its periplasmic domain. In this domain, two independent subdomains, both involved in FtsQ, FtsI and FtsN interactions, were also identified. The study of FtsQ interaction-defective mutants constituted a basis to investigate the biological significance of its interactions. However, in the case of interactions where two independent sites are involved, mutation(s) in one domain can be suppressed by the presence of the still-functional second interaction region. To ascertain the biological role of these interactions, it is therefore necessary to select double mutants, where both sites are impaired. This paper describes the behaviour of FtsQ double mutants that have lost the ability to interact with FtsN, which is the last component in the hierarchy of divisome assembly, and is necessary to guarantee its stability and function.
More Related Videos
14:06Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays
Published on: November 12, 2012
14:58Identification of Protein Complexes in Escherichia coli using Sequential Peptide Affinity Purification in Combination with Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Published on: November 12, 2012
Related Concept Videos
Cytoskeletal Proteins in Bacteria
Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts
The SCF ubiquitin ligase is a protein complex of five individual proteins. This complex attaches ubiquitin to other target proteins to mark them for degradation. In order to...
Stringent Response in E. coli
Microbial Interactions: Cooperation
Coordination of Gene Expression Processes in Bacteria
Protein Networks
These interactions can be represented through maps depicting protein-protein interaction networks, represented as nodes and edges. Nodes are circles that are representative of a protein,...