Escherichia coli FtsA forms lipid-bound minirings that antagonize lateral interactions between FtsZ protofilaments

Most bacteria divide using a protein machine called the divisome that spans the cytoplasmic membrane. Key divisome proteins on the membrane’s cytoplasmic side include tubulin-like FtsZ, which forms GTP-dependent protofilaments, and actin-like FtsA, which tethers FtsZ to the membrane. Here we present genetic evidence that in Escherichia coli, FtsA antagonizes FtsZ protofilament bundling in vivo. We then show that purified FtsA does not form straight polymers on lipid monolayers as expected, but instead assembles into dodecameric minirings, often in hexameric arrays. When coassembled with FtsZ on lipid monolayers, these FtsA minirings appear to guide FtsZ to form long, often parallel, but unbundled protofilaments, whereas a mutant of FtsZ (FtsZ*) with stronger lateral interactions remains bundled. In contrast, a hypermorphic mutant of FtsA (FtsA*) forms mainly arcs instead of minirings and enhances lateral interactions between FtsZ protofilaments. Based on these results, we propose that FtsA antagonizes lateral interactions between FtsZ protofilaments, and that the oligomeric state of FtsA may influence FtsZ higher-order structure and divisome function.