# Mechanisms and Regulation of Cell Division in Bacteria

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · 2020 · $425,320

## Abstract

Project summary
A cell is like a city, with an organized yet dynamic infrastructure grouped into specialties. For the
last 25 years, my lab has investigated how the simplest cells—bacteria—organize themselves and
divide to make progeny cells. We mainly focus on how bacteria such as E. coli achieve the
daunting task of splitting themselves in two at just the right time (once their genetic material is
duplicated) and place (exactly in the middle) every 20 minutes without making errors. The keys to
this success are ancient and universal versions of protein polymers of actin (FtsA) and tubulin
(FtsZ), which our lab visualized for the first time in living bacteria over 20 years ago. Today, we use
state of the art super-resolution imaging, combined with molecular genetics, protein biochemistry,
interaction studies, and in vitro reconstitution, to gain more detailed insights into the structure and
regulation of these cytoskeletal polymers and their associated proteins, which comprise the
dynamic membrane-associated protein nanomachine (divisome) that divides bacterial cells.
Thanks in part to our characterization of bypass suppressors of essential divisome proteins, it is
now becoming clear that the divisome is highly flexible, and can remodel itself in response to
various inputs and perturbations. Despite impressive contributions by many labs, there is much to
be learned about overall divisome structure, the interchangeability of its parts, and how it remodels
in response to temporal and environmental cues. We will address these fundamental questions by
(1) obtaining more high-resolution information about protein-protein contacts during cytokinesis by
combining biophysical, cytological, and genetic approaches; (2) investigating the role of oligomeric
state of FtsZ and FtsA in divisome function and regulation, using super-resolution microscopy of
whole cells and reconstituted biomimetic protein-membrane systems; (3) taking advantage of the
diversity of divisome proteins from other model bacterial species to distinguish between common
and specialized mechanisms; (4) understanding the interplay between the divisome and other
large-scale cellular processes such as cell wall biosynthesis. We will leverage these approaches by
continuing our collaborations with several close colleagues who have complementary
interdisciplinary expertise.
Our ongoing investigation of how the simplest cells divide should pave the way for an
unprecedented understanding of how an entire cell functions and reproduces. Having an accurate
map of that city-cell's dynamic infrastructure will allow predictions to be made about how it works,
and how to disrupt it.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9899263
- **Project number:** 5R35GM131705-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** WILLIAM MARGOLIN
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $425,320
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9899263

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9899263, Mechanisms and Regulation of Cell Division in Bacteria (5R35GM131705-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9899263. Licensed CC0.

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