Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

The molecular architecture of engulfment during Bacillus subtilis sporulation

Kanika Khanna, Javier Lopez-Garrido, Ziyi Zhao, Reika Watanabe, Yuan Yuan, View ORCID ProfileKit Pogliano, View ORCID ProfileElizabeth Villa
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/498220
Kanika Khanna
aDivision of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA, 92095-0377
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Javier Lopez-Garrido
aDivision of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA, 92095-0377
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ziyi Zhao
aDivision of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA, 92095-0377
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Reika Watanabe
aDivision of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA, 92095-0377
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Yuan Yuan
aDivision of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA, 92095-0377
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Kit Pogliano
aDivision of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA, 92095-0377
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Kit Pogliano
  • For correspondence: evilla@ucsd.edu kpogliano@ucsd.edu
Elizabeth Villa
aDivision of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA, 92095-0377
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Elizabeth Villa
  • For correspondence: evilla@ucsd.edu kpogliano@ucsd.edu
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

The study of cell biology is limited by the difficulty in visualizing cellular structures at high spatial resolution within their native milieu. Here, we have visualized sporulation in Bacillus subtilis using cryo-electron tomography coupled with cryo-focused ion beam milling, a technique that allows the 3D reconstruction of cellular structures in near-native state at molecular resolution. During sporulation, an asymmetrically-positioned septum divides the cell into a larger mother cell and a smaller forespore. Subsequently, the mother cell phagocytoses the forespore in a process called engulfment, which entails a dramatic rearrangement of the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall around the forespore. By imaging wild-type sporangia, engulfment mutants, and sporangia treated with PG synthesis inhibitors, we show that the initiation of engulfment does not entail the complete dissolution of the septal PG by the mother cell SpoIIDMP complex, as was previously thought. Instead, DMP is required to maintain a flexible septum that is uniformly and only slightly thinned at the onset of engulfment. Then, the mother cell membrane migrates around the forespore by forming tiny finger-like projections, the formation of which requires both SpoIIDMP and new PG synthesized ahead of the leading edge of the engulfing membrane. We propose a molecular model for engulfment membrane migration in which a limited number of SpoIIDMP complexes tether the membrane to and degrade the new PG ahead of the leading edge, thereby generating an irregular engulfing membrane front. Our data also reveal other structures that will provide a valuable resource for future mechanistic studies of endospore formation.

Footnotes

  • Declaration of interests

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted December 16, 2018.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
The molecular architecture of engulfment during Bacillus subtilis sporulation
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
The molecular architecture of engulfment during Bacillus subtilis sporulation
Kanika Khanna, Javier Lopez-Garrido, Ziyi Zhao, Reika Watanabe, Yuan Yuan, Kit Pogliano, Elizabeth Villa
bioRxiv 498220; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/498220
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
The molecular architecture of engulfment during Bacillus subtilis sporulation
Kanika Khanna, Javier Lopez-Garrido, Ziyi Zhao, Reika Watanabe, Yuan Yuan, Kit Pogliano, Elizabeth Villa
bioRxiv 498220; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/498220

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Microbiology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4866)
  • Biochemistry (10821)
  • Bioengineering (8068)
  • Bioinformatics (27381)
  • Biophysics (14030)
  • Cancer Biology (11165)
  • Cell Biology (16106)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (8808)
  • Ecology (13332)
  • Epidemiology (2067)
  • Evolutionary Biology (17399)
  • Genetics (11705)
  • Genomics (15963)
  • Immunology (11061)
  • Microbiology (26168)
  • Molecular Biology (10680)
  • Neuroscience (56746)
  • Paleontology (422)
  • Pathology (1737)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (3012)
  • Physiology (4569)
  • Plant Biology (9669)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1617)
  • Synthetic Biology (2699)
  • Systems Biology (6997)
  • Zoology (1515)