September Newsletter: FtsZ Proteins: A Novel Anti-microbial Target

The tubulin homolog FtsZ (Filamenting temperature-sensitive mutant Z) protein is an essential prokaryotic cell divison protein. FtsZ is a GTPase that polymerizes in a nucleotide-dependent manner head-to-tail to form single-stranded filaments that assemble into a contractile ring called the Z-ring. This ring forms on the inside of the cytoplasmic membrane where it marks the future site of the septum of a dividing bacterial cell and is dynamically maintained through the course of cell division by continuous and rapid turnover of FtsZ polymers. FtsZ is the first protein to localize at the division site and recruits other proteins involved in bacterial cell division. Besides serving as a scaffold for other cell division proteins, FtsZ itself may exert cytokinetic forces that lead to cell division.

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Also included in this newsletter:

• Tubulin Proteins, FtsZ Proteins, and Tubulin Polymerization Kits

• Related Publications