Fig. 3: Superfission mutations facilitate Z ring condensation and stabilization in Δzap cells.
From: The divisome is a self-enhancing machine in Escherichia coli and Caulobacter crescentus
a Cell length distribution of WT and Δzap strains with or without superfission mutations from 3 biological replicates. Strains were grown at 30 °C in exponential phase, number of cells analyzed (WT: 234; Δzap: 213; Δzap ftsA*: 274; Δzap ftsI*: 211; Δzap ftsL*: 234, Δzap ftsW*: 235). b Representative images of Z rings in Δzap cells with or without superfission mutations from 3 biological replicates. Strains were grown at 30 °C in exponential phase. Scale bar 5 μm. c-d Z ring width distribution (c) and percentage of condensed and decondensed Z rings (d) in WT and Δzap strains with or without superfission mutations from 3 biological replicates. Number of Z rings analyzed in c, d (WT: 427; Δzap: 525, Δzap ftsA*: 499, Δzap ftsI*: 455, Δzap ftsL*: 420, Δzap ftsW*: 523). The box plots (c) show the 25th and 75th percentiles as the box limits, with the mean at the center, whiskers extend from -s.d. to +s.d. of the mean. e Percentage of co-localization (Methods) of ZipA-mCherry with GFP-FtsI in WT and Δzap strains with or without superfission mutations (2 biological replicates). Strains were grown at 30 °C in exponential phase, ZipA-mCherry was constitutively expressed from its chromosomal locus while GFP-FtsI was induced with 5 μM IPTG for 2 h before imaging. Number of ZipA-mCherry/GFP-FtsI rings analyzed (WT: 970/489; Δzap: 965/157; Δzap ftsA*: 1064/478; Δzap ftsI*: 907/288; Δzap ftsL*: 810/320; Δzap ftsW*: 775/265). f Percentage of co-localization of FtsZ-GFP with HADA in WT and Δzap strains with or without superfission mutations (2 biological replicates). Strains were grown at 30 °C in exponential phase, FtsZ-GFP was induced with 40 μM IPTG for 2 h before imaging, HADA was added to a final concentration of 0.25 mM and incubated for 1 min. Number of FtsZ-GFP/HADA rings analyzed (WT: 1318/567; Δzap: 848/154; Δzap ftsA*:759/365; Δzap ftsI*:952/446; Δzap ftsL*:730/327; Δzap ftsW*:711/315). Data in a, e and f are presented as mean values ±s.d.. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001, two-tailed Student’s t test. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
