The division protein FtsZ interacts with the small heat shock protein IbpA in Acholeplasma laidlawii

Abstract

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) control the proteins stability in the cell preventing their irreversible denaturation. While many mycoplasmas possess the sHSP gene in the genome, Acholeplasma laidlawii is the only mycoplasma capable of surviving in the environment. Here we report that the sHSP IbpA directly interacts with the key division protein FtsZ in A. laidlawii, representing the first example of such interaction in prokaryotes. FtsZ co-immunoprecipitates with IbpA from A. laidlawii crude extract and in vitro binds IbpA with KD ~ 1 μM. Proteins co-localize in the soluble fraction of the cell at 30–37 °C and in the non-soluble fraction after 1 h exposition to cold stress (4 °C). Under heat shock conditions (42 °C) the amount of FtsZ decreases and the protein remains in both soluble and non-soluble fractions. Furthermore, in vitro, FtsZ co-elutes with IbpAHis6 from A. laidlawii crude extract at any temperatures from 4 to 42 °C, with highest yield at 42 °C. Moreover, in vitro FtsZ retains its GTPase activity in presence of IbpA, and the filaments and bundles formation seems to be even improved by sHSP at 30–37 °C. At extreme temperatures, either 4 or 42 °C, IbpA facilitates FtsZ polymerization, although filaments under 4 °C appears shorter and with lower density, while at 42 °C IbpA sticks around the bundles, preventing their destruction by heat. Taken together, these data suggest that sHSP IbpA in A. laidlawii contributes to the FtsZ stability control and may be assisting appropriate cell division under unfavorable conditions.