Perpendicular planes of FtsZ arcs in spheroidal Escherichia coli cells

Division planes in Escherichia coli, usually restricted to one dimension of the rod-shaped cell, were induced at all possible planes by transforming t he cells to spheroids with mecillinam (inactivating PbpA). Such cells displ ayed many nucleoids and arcs of FtsZ, genetically tagged to green fluoresce nt protein, that developed to rings at constriction sites all around their surface. These observations are consistent with the view (Woldringh et al., J. Bacteriol. 176 (1994) 6030-6038) that nucleoids, forced during replicat ion to segregate in the length axis of the cell by the rigid bacillary enve lope, induce assembly of FtsZ to division rings in between them. (C) 2001 S ociete francaise de biochimie et biologie moleculaire / Editions scientifiq ues et medicales Elsevier SAS.