Molecular characterization of the cell division gene ftsZ in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Abstract

Cell division is an essential process in all bacteria, although in some organisms like Neisseria gonorrhoeae relatively little is known about cell division. The process has been well characterized in Escherichia coli, with the identification and characterization of many cell division genes. The ftsZ gene is essential in E. coli as the gene product plays a critical role in the initiation and formation of the septum at the division site. In efforts to understand cell division at the molecular level in N. gonorrhoeae, the ftsZ gene has been identified and preliminary characterization is reported. The gonococcal ftsZ consists of a 1179 bp open reading frame, encoding a 41.3 kDa protein. Sequence analysis has shown the gonococcal FtsZ to be highly similar to other known FtsZ proteins, with conservation of the GTP binding motif. In vitro transcription/translation shows the gene encodes a protein migrating at 43 kDa. Western blot analysis of gonococcal lysates and commensal Neisseria lysates detected an immunoreactive band using an anti-E. coli FtsZ antisera. Attempts to clone the gonococcal ftsZ gene in an E. coli host indicate that expression of the gene from a putative native promoter is lethal to the cell. When expression is controlled by an inducible lactose promoter, the E. coli cells show a filamentous phenotype similar to that seen with expression of other heterologous ftsZ genes. Attempts to knock out the ftsZ gene on the gonococcal chromosome by transformation and recombination indicate that the gene is essential in N. gonorrhoeae. The initial characterization of the ftsZ gene in N. gonorrhoeae provides a basis for further study of cell division in this organism.