FtsZ is a protein encoded by the ftsZ gene that assembles into a ring at the future site of the septum of bacterial cell division. FtsZ is a prokaryotic homologue to the eukaryotic protein tubulin. A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... This stylistic schematic diagram shows a gene in relation to the double helix structure of DNA and to a chromosome (right). ... A septum, in general, is a wall separating two cavities or two spaces containing a less dense material. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria is also the fictional name of a warring nation under Benzino Napaloni as dictator, in the 1940 film The Great Dictator... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Prokaryotes are unicellular (in rare cases, multicellular) organisms without a nucleus. ... In biology, two or more structures are said to be homologous if they are alike because of shared ancestry. ... Kingdoms Eukaryotes are organisms with complex cells, in which the genetic material is organized into membrane-bound nuclei. ... Tubulin is the protein which makes up microtubules. ...

Discovery of the bacterial cytoskeleton is fairly recent. FtsZ was the first protein of the prokaryotic cytoskeleton to be identified. In 1991 it was discovered by Erfei Bi and Joseph Lutkenhaus that FtsZ assembled into the Z-ring. During cell division, FtsZ is the first protein to move to the division site, and is essential for recruiting other proteins that produce a new cell wall between the dividing cells. FtsZ's role in cell division is analogous to that of actin in eukaryotic cell division, but unlike the actin-myosin ring in eukaryotes, FtsZ is not thought to provide the mechanical force that physically divides the cell. The cytoskeleton is a cellular scaffolding or skeleton contained, as all other organelles, within the cytoplasm. ... The cytoskeleton is a cellular scaffolding or skeleton contained, as all other organelles, within the cytoplasm. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A cell wall is a more or less solid layer surrounding a cell. ... G-Actin (PDB code: 1j6z). ... G-Actin (PDB code: 1j6z). ... Myosin is a motor protein filament found in muscle tissue. ...

How the roles of tubulin-like proteins and actin-like proteins in cell division became reversed is an evolutionary mystery, but the use of the FtsZ ring in dividing mitochondria and chloroplasts further estabilishes their prokaryotic ancestry.

Much is known about the dynamic polymerization activities of tubulin and microtubules, but little is known about these activities in FtsZ. While it is known that single-stranded tubulin protofilaments form into 13 stranded microtubules, the multistranded structure of the FtsZ containing Z-ring is not known. Furthermore, there is controversy over the apparent cooperativity of single-stranded FtsZ polymer assembly since all estabilished theoretical models for cooperative assembly require multistranded polymers. Tubulin is the protein which makes up microtubules. ... Microtubules are protein structures found within cells. ... Tubulin is the protein which makes up microtubules. ... Microtubules are protein structures found within cells. ...

References

1. Chen, J.C., et al., Septal localization of FtsQ, an essential cell division protein in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol, 1999. 181(2): p. 521-530. PMID 9882666 [1]
2. Löwe, J., and Amos, L.A., Structure of the bacterial tubulin homolog FtsZ Nature, 1998. 391: p. 203-206. Entrez PubMed 9428770
3. Romberg, L., and Levin, P.A., Assembly dynamics of the bacterial cell division protein FTSZ: poised at the edge of stability Annu Rev Microbiol, 2003. 57: p. 125-154. PMID 14527275 [2]
4. Scheffers, D., and Driessen, A.J., The polymerization mechanism of the bacterial cell division protein FtsZ FEBS Letters, 2001. 506(1): p. 6-10. PMID 11591361 [3]
5. van den Ent, F., Amos, L., Lowe, J., Bacterial ancestry of actin and tubulin Curr Opin Microbiol, 2001. 4(6): p. 634-638. PMID 11731313 [4]
6. Bi, E. and Lutkenhaus, J., "FtsZ ring structure associated with division in Escherichia coli." Nature, 1991 354, 161 - 164. Entrez PubMed 1944597

First title page, November 4, 1869 Nature is one of the oldest and most reputable scientific journals, first published on 4 November 1869. ... The Entrez Global Query Cross-Database Search System allows access to databases at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. ... The Entrez Global Query Cross-Database Search System allows access to databases at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. ...