Search

Accurate spatial and temporal positioning of the tubulin-like protein FtsZ is key for proper bacterial cell division. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is an oval-shaped, symmetrically dividing opportunistic human pathogen lacking the canonical systems for division site control (nucleoid occlusion and the Min-system). Recently, the early division protein MapZ was identified and implicated in pneumococcal division site selection. We show that MapZ is important for proper division plane selection; thus, the question remains as to what drives pneumococcal division site selection. By mapping the cell cycle in detail, we show that directly after replication both chromosomal origin regions localize to the future cell division sites, before FtsZ. Interestingly, Z-ring formation occurs coincidently with initiation of DNA replication. Perturbing the longitudinal chromosomal organization by mutating the condensin SMC, by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated chromosome cutting, or by poisoning DNA decatenation resulted in mistiming of MapZ and FtsZ positioning and subsequent cell elongation. Together, we demonstrate an intimate relationship between DNA replication, chromosome segregation, and division site selection in the pneumococcus, providing a simple way to ensure equally sized daughter cells., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Unlabelled: ParB proteins bind centromere-like DNA sequences called parS sites and are involved in plasmid and chromosome segregation in bacteria. We previously showed that the opportunistic human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae contains four parS sequences located close to the origin of replication which are bound by ParB. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), we found here that ParB spreads out from one of these parS sites, parS(-1.6°), for more than 5 kb and occupies the nearby comCDE operon, which drives competence development. Competence allows S. pneumoniae to take up DNA from its environment, thereby mediating horizontal gene transfer, and is also employed as a general stress response. Mutating parS(-1.6°) or deleting parB resulted in transcriptional up-regulation of comCDE and ssbB (a gene belonging to the competence regulon), demonstrating that ParB acts as a repressor of competence. However, genome-wide transcription analysis showed that ParB is not a global transcriptional regulator. Different factors, such as the composition of the growth medium and antibiotic-induced stress, can trigger the sensitive switch driving competence. This work shows that the ParB-parS chromosome segregation machinery also influences this developmental process., Importance: Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is an important human pathogen responsible for more than a million deaths each year. Like all other organisms, S. pneumoniae must be able to segregate its chromosomes properly. Not only is understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying chromosome segregation in S. pneumoniae therefore of fundamental importance, but also, this knowledge might offer new leads for ways to target this pathogen. Here, we identified a link between the pneumococcal chromosome segregation system and the competence-developmental system. Competence allows S. pneumoniae to take up and integrate exogenous DNA in its chromosome. This process plays a crucial role in successful adaptation to--and escape from--host defenses, antibiotic treatments, and vaccination strategies. We show that the chromosome segregation protein ParB acts as a repressor of competence. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a ParB protein controlling bacterial competence., (Copyright © 2015 Attaiech et al.)

Chromosome segregation is an essential part of the bacterial cell cycle but is poorly characterized in oval-shaped streptococci. Using time-lapse fluorescence microscopy and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, we have tracked the dynamics of chromosome segregation in live cells of the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. Our observations show that the chromosome segregation process last for two-thirds of the total cell cycle; the origin region segregates rapidly in the early stages of the cell cycle while nucleoid segregation finishes just before cell division. Previously we have demonstrated that the DNA-binding protein ParB and the condensin SMC promote efficient chromosome segregation, likely by an active mechanism. We now show that in the absence of SMC, cell division can occur over the unsegregated chromosomes. However, neither smc nor parB are essential in S. pneumoniae, suggesting the importance of additional mechanisms. Here we have identified the process of transcription as one of these mechanisms important for chromosome segregation in S. pneumoniae. Transcription inhibitors rifampicin and streptolydigin as well as mutants affected in transcription elongation cause chromosome segregation defects. Together, our results highlight the importance of passive (or indirect) processes such as transcription for chromosome segregation in oval-shaped bacteria., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

High‐throughput analyses of single‐cell microscopy data are a critical tool within the field of bacterial cell biology. Several programs have been developed to specifically segment bacterial cells from phase‐contrast images. Together with spot and object detection algorithms, these programs offer powerful approaches to quantify observations from microscopy data, ranging from cell‐to‐cell genealogy to localization and movement of proteins. Most segmentation programs contain specific post‐processing and plotting options, but these options vary between programs and possibilities to optimize or alter the outputs are often limited. Therefore, we developed BactMAP (Bacterial toolbox for Microscopy Analysis & Plotting), a command‐line based R package that allows researchers to transform cell segmentation and spot detection data generated by different programs into various plots. Furthermore, BactMAP makes it possible to perform custom analyses and change the layout of the output. Because BactMAP works independently of segmentation and detection programs, inputs from different sources can be compared within the same analysis pipeline. BactMAP complies with standard practice in R which enables the use of advanced statistical analysis tools, and its graphic output is compatible with ggplot2, enabling adjustable plot graphics in every operating system. User feedback will be used to create a fully automated Graphical User Interface version of BactMAP in the future. Using BactMAP, we visualize key cell cycle parameters in Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, and demonstrate that the DNA replication forks in Streptococcus pneumoniae dissociate and associate before splitting of the cell, after the Z‐ring is formed at the new quarter positions. BactMAP is available from https://veeninglab.com/bactmap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromosome segregation is an essential part of the bacterial cell cycle but is poorly characterized in oval-shaped streptococci. Using time-lapse fluorescence microscopy and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, we have tracked the dynamics of chromosome segregation in live cells of the human pathogen S treptococcus pneumoniae. Our observations show that the chromosome segregation process last for two-thirds of the total cell cycle; the origin region segregates rapidly in the early stages of the cell cycle while nucleoid segregation finishes just before cell division. Previously we have demonstrated that the DNA-binding protein ParB and the condensin SMC promote efficient chromosome segregation, likely by an active mechanism. We now show that in the absence of SMC, cell division can occur over the unsegregated chromosomes. However, neither smc nor parB are essential in S . pneumoniae, suggesting the importance of additional mechanisms. Here we have identified the process of transcription as one of these mechanisms important for chromosome segregation in S . pneumoniae. Transcription inhibitors rifampicin and streptolydigin as well as mutants affected in transcription elongation cause chromosome segregation defects. Together, our results highlight the importance of passive (or indirect) processes such as transcription for chromosome segregation in oval-shaped bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteria come in a range of shapes, including round, rod-shaped, curved and spiral cells. This morphological diversity implies that different mechanisms exist to guide proper cell growth, division and chromosome segregation. Although the majority of studies on cell division have focused on rod-shaped cells, the development of new genetic and cell biology tools has provided mechanistic insight into the cell cycles of bacteria with different shapes, allowing us to appreciate the underlying molecular basis for their morphological diversity. In this Review, we discuss recent progress that has advanced our knowledge of the complex mechanisms for chromosome segregation and cell division in bacteria which have, deceptively, the simplest possible shape: the cocci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]