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Live-Cell Forward Genetic Approach to Identify and Isolate Developmental Mutants in Chlamydia trachomatis
Published on: June 10, 2020
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Polarized Cell Division of Chlamydia trachomatis
Yasser Abdelrahman1,2, Scot P Ouellette3, Robert J Belland1
1Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America.
Plos Pathogens
|August 10, 2016
Summary
Chlamydia trachomatis divides via a unique polarized cell growth process, not binary fission. This FtsZ-independent mechanism offers potential for new therapeutic targets against this common human pathogen.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Cell Biology
- Bacterial Pathogenesis
Background:
- Bacterial cell division typically uses FtsZ-dependent binary fission.
- Chlamydia trachomatis, a human pathogen, lacks FtsZ but was presumed to use binary fission.
- Alternative FtsZ-independent division mechanisms are rare in bacteria.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cell division mechanism of Chlamydia trachomatis.
- To determine if Chlamydia trachomatis utilizes FtsZ-dependent binary fission.
- To explore novel therapeutic targets for Chlamydia trachomatis infections.
Main Methods:
- Microscopy to observe cell division and protein localization.
- Inhibitor studies to assess the role of polarity in cell division.
- Comparative analysis with known bacterial division mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Chlamydia trachomatis exhibits polarized cell division, resembling budding in Planctomycetes.
- Major outer-membrane protein localization to one pole precedes asymmetric daughter cell emergence.
- Cell division machinery components accumulate at the polar growth site.
- Inhibitors disrupting polarity prevent Chlamydia cell division.
Conclusions:
- Chlamydia trachomatis employs a unique FtsZ-independent, polarized cell division mechanism.
- This unipolar growth and fission process is distinct from binary fission.
- The novel division pathway presents potential for developing Chlamydia-specific treatments.
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