AUTHOR=Bottomley Amy L. , Liew Andrew T. F. , Kusuma Kennardy D. , Peterson Elizabeth , Seidel Lisa , Foster Simon J. , Harry Elizabeth J. 

TITLE=Coordination of Chromosome Segregation and Cell Division in Staphylococcus aureus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01575

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2017.01575

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Productive bacterial cell division and survival of progeny requires tight coordination between chromosome segregation and cell division to ensure equal partitioning of DNA. Unlike rod-shaped bacteria that undergo division in one plane, the coccoid human pathogen <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic> divides in three successive orthogonal planes, which requires a different spatial control compared to rod-shaped cells. To gain a better understanding of how this coordination between chromosome segregation and cell division is regulated in <italic>S. aureus</italic>, we investigated proteins that associate with FtsZ and the divisome. We found that DnaK, a well-known chaperone, interacts with FtsZ, EzrA and DivIVA, and is required for DivIVA stability. Unlike in several rod shaped organisms, DivIVA in <italic>S. aureus</italic> associates with several components of the divisome, as well as the chromosome segregation protein, SMC. This data, combined with phenotypic analysis of mutants, suggests a novel role for <italic>S. aureus</italic> DivIVA in ensuring cell division and chromosome segregation are coordinated.</p>