13 Facts About FtsZ

FtsZ is a protein encoded by the ftsZ gene that assembles into a ring at the future site of bacterial cell division .

FtsZ is a prokaryotic homologue of the eukaryotic protein tubulin.

The initials FtsZ mean "Filamenting temperature-sensitive mutant Z " The hypothesis was that cell division mutants of E coli would grow as filaments due to the inability of the daughter cells to separate from one another.

FtsZ is found in almost all bacteria, many archaea, all chloroplasts and some mitochondria, where it is essential for cell division.

Subsequently, the Losick and Margolin groups used immuno-fluorescence microscopy and GFP fusions to show that FtsZ assembled Z rings early in the cell cycle, well before the septum began to constrict.

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Later work showed that FtsZ was present in, and essential for, cell division in almost all bacteria and in many but not all archaea.

Chloroplast FtsZ was first discovered by Osteryoung, and it is known that all chloroplasts use FtsZ for division.

Mitochondrial FtsZ was discovered by Beech in an alga; FtsZ is used for mitochondrial division in some eukaryotes, while others have replaced it with a dynamin-based machinery.

Recently, proteins similar to tubulin and FtsZ have been discovered in large plasmids found in Bacillus species.

FtsZ has the ability to bind to GTP and exhibits a GTPase domain that allows it to hydrolyze GTP to GDP and a phosphate group.

The treadmilling action of FtsZ is required for proper synthesis of the division septum by septal peptidoglycan synthesis enzymes, suggesting that these enzymes can track the growing ends of the filaments.

The mechanism is not well understood, but thought to involve sequestration of FtsZ, preventing polymerization over the nucleoid region.

Spontaneous self-assembly of FtsZ can be used in nanotechnology to fabricate metal nanowires.