GROWTH POLE RING protein forms a 200-nm-diameter ring structure essential for polar growth and rod shape in Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Significance: The extensively studied rod-shaped bacteria Escherichia coli , Bacillus subtilis , and Caulobacter crescentus grow by dispersed insertion of new cell wall material along the entire length of the cell. An alternative prokaryotic growth mode—polar growth—is used by some Actinomycetales and Proteobacteria. The latter phylum includes the family Rhizobiaceae, of which Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a prominent member. The factors responsible for polar growth are largely unknown. Here we describe GROWTH POLE RING (GPR) protein from Agrobacterium with a striking localization as a ring of six foci at the growth pole. GPR is potentially the polar growth organizer in Agrobacterium , as its absence leads to severe morphological defects, including loss of cylindrical cell shape, while its overproduction leads to ectopic growth poles.
Funding Information
  • National Science Foundation (MCB-0923840)
  • Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología ()34-CIBAE-2014)

This publication has 48 references indexed in Scilit: