Cell cycle-dependent regulation of FtsZ in Escherichia coli in slow growth conditions

FtsZ is the key regulator of bacterial cell division. It initiates division by forming a dynamic ring-like structure, the Z-ring, at the mid-cell. What triggers the formation of the Z-ring during the cell cycle is poorly understood. In Escherichia coli, the common view is that FtsZ concentration is constant throughout its doubling time and therefore regulation of assembly is controlled by some yet-to-be-identified protein-protein interactions. Using a newly developed functional, fluorescent FtsZ reporter, we performed a quantitative analysis of the FtsZ concentration throughout the cell cycle under slow growth conditions. In contrast to the common expectation, we show that FtsZ concentrations vary in a cell cycle-dependent manner, and that upregulation of FtsZ synthesis correlates with the formation of the Z-ring. The first half of the cell cycle shows an approximately fourfold upregulation of FtsZ synthesis, followed by its rapid degradation by ClpXP protease in the last 10% of the cell cycle. The initiation of rapid degradation coincides with the dissociation of FtsZ from the septum. Altogether, our data suggest that the Z-ring formation in slow growth conditions in E. coli is partially controlled by a regulatory sequence wherein upregulation of an essential cell cycle factor is followed by its degradation.