Bacterial cell division requires accurate selection of the middle of the ce
ll, where the bacterial tubulin homologue FtsZ polymerizes into a ring stru
cture. In Escherichia coli, site selection is dependent on MinC, MinD and M
inE, MinC acts, with MinD, to inhibit division at sites other than the midc
ell by directly interacting with FtsZ, Here we report the crystal structure
to 2.2 Angstrom of MinC from Thermotoga maritima, MinC consists of two dom
ains separated by a short linker. The C-terminal domain is a right-handed P
-helix and is involved in dimer formation. The crystals contain two differe
nt MinC dimers, demonstrating flexibility in the linker region. The two-dom
ain architecture and dimerization of MinC can be rationalized with a model
of cell division inhibition. MinC does not act like SulA, which affects the
GTPase activity of FtsZ, and the model can explain how MinC would select f
or the FtsZ polymer rather than the monomer.