Structural highlights
Evolutionary Conservation Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf. Publication Abstract from PubMedThe prokaryotic tubulin homolog FtsZ polymerizes into a ring structure essential for bacterial cell division. We have used refolded FtsZ to crystallize a tubulin-like protofilament. The N- and C-terminal domains of two consecutive subunits in the filament assemble to form the GTPase site, with the C-terminal domain providing water-polarizing residues. A domain-swapped structure of FtsZ and biochemical data on purified N- and C-terminal domains show that they are independent. This leads to a model of how FtsZ and tubulin polymerization evolved by fusing two domains. In polymerized tubulin, the nucleotide-binding pocket is occluded, which leads to nucleotide exchange being the rate-limiting step and to dynamic instability. In our FtsZ filament structure the nucleotide is exchangeable, explaining why, in this filament, nucleotide hydrolysis is the rate-limiting step during FtsZ polymerization. Furthermore, crystal structures of FtsZ in different nucleotide states reveal notably few differences. Structural insights into FtsZ protofilament formation.,Oliva MA, Cordell SC, Lowe J Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2004 Dec;11(12):1243-50. Epub 2004 Nov 21. PMID:15558053[1] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. See AlsoReferences
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