Expression of theEscherichia coli ftsZgene: trials and tribulations of gene fusion studies

Abstract

The ftsZ gene of Escherichia coli, which codes for an essential cell division protein, is subjected to multiple regulation, as shown in part with studies using an ftsZ::lacZ operon fusion located on phage lambda JFL100. Using this same fusion, we sought to isolate regulatory mutants overexpressing ftsZ by selecting mutants able to grow on lactose. One Lac+ mutant was obtained which overexpressed the ftsZ::lacZ fusion 70-fold. The mutation responsible for the overexpression lies in a new gene, cot, located near 56 min on the E. coli genetic map. The cot mutation probably affects the transcription of a chromosomal open reading frame, ORF1, lying downstream of the bioA gene and adjacent to the ftzZ::lacZ fusion of the lambda JFL100 prophage integrated at att lambda. Using an ftsZ84(Ts) strain, in which there was a double selection for overexpression of both ftsZ::lacZ and ftsZ+, no Lac+Tr mutants were obtained from 3.6 x 10(10) bacteria; the introduction of a mutL allele, increasing spontaneous base substitution mutation rates 75-fold, did not permit us to isolate such a mutant. We conclude that Lac+ ftsZ-constitutive mutations cannot be obtained in lambda JFL100 lysogens by a single base substitution.