Bacterial programmed cell death synchronized with horizontal gene transfer

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26660077
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied microbiology
• Research Institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Miyazaki Ryo 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 生物プロセス研究部門, 研究員 (80712489)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 遺伝子水平伝播 / 細胞死 / 一細胞解析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Programmed cell death (PCD) is an elegant system in eukaryotic cells so that eukaryotes can maintain their homeostasis and functionalities. On the other hand, little is known about PCD in prokaryotes that can survive as unicellular organisms, such as bacteria. Here we focus on a PCD system encoded on an Integrative and Conjugative Element (ICE), a mobile DNA element located in the bacterial chromosome, to understand molecular mechanisms underlying the PCD. Using molecular genetics and microscopy techniques, we found that growth inhibition prior to the PCD was induced by two proteins, ParA and Shi, encoded by genes on the ICE. Shi widely distributed in cytoplasm, whereas ParA localized at the middle or polar sites of the cell, suggesting that ParA could interact with chromosomal DNA.

Free Research Field

微生物学