A genome-scale proteomic screen identifies a role for DnaK in chaperoning of polar autotransporters in Shigella

Toward a Shigella Vaccine: Opportunities and Challenges to Fight an Antimicrobial-Resistant Pathogen

Shigellosis causes more than 200,000 deaths worldwide and most of this burden falls on Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), with a particular incidence in children under 5 years of age. In the last decades, Shigella has become even more worrisome because of the onset of antimicrobial-resistant strains (AMR). Indeed, the WHO has listed Shigella as one of the priority pathogens for the development of new interventions. To date, there are no broadly available vaccines against shigellosis, but several candidates are being evaluated in preclinical and clinical studies, bringing to light very important data and information. With the aim to facilitate the understanding of the state-of-the-art of Shigella vaccine development, here we report what is known about Shigella epidemiology and pathogenesis with a focus on virulence factors and potential antigens for vaccine development. We discuss immunity after natural infection and immunization. In addition, we highlight the main characteristics of the different technologies that have been applied for the development of a vaccine with broad protection against Shigella.

Folding Control in the Path of Type 5 Secretion

The type 5 secretion system (T5SS) is one of the more widespread secretion systems in Gram-negative bacteria. Proteins secreted by the T5SS are functionally diverse (toxins, adhesins, enzymes) and include numerous virulence factors. Mechanistically, the T5SS has long been considered the simplest of secretion systems, due to the paucity of proteins required for its functioning. Still, despite more than two decades of study, the exact process by which T5SS substrates attain their final destination and correct conformation is not totally deciphered. Moreover, the recent addition of new sub-families to the T5SS raises additional questions about this secretion mechanism. Central to the understanding of type 5 secretion is the question of protein folding, which needs to be carefully controlled in each of the bacterial cell compartments these proteins cross. Here, the biogenesis of proteins secreted by the Type 5 secretion system is discussed, with a focus on the various factors preventing or promoting protein folding during biogenesis.

Recent advances in the understanding of trimeric autotransporter adhesins

Adhesion is the initial step in the infection process of gram-negative bacteria. It is usually followed by the formation of biofilms that serve as a hub for further spread of the infection. Type V secretion systems engage in this process by binding to components of the extracellular matrix, which is the first step in the infection process. At the same time they provide protection from the immune system by either binding components of the innate immune system or by establishing a physical layer against aggressors. Trimeric autotransporter adhesins (TAAs) are of particular interest in this family of proteins as they possess a unique structural composition which arises from constraints during translocation. The sequence of individual domains can vary dramatically while the overall structure can be very similar to one another. This patchwork approach allows researchers to draw conclusions of the underlying function of a specific domain in a structure-based approach which underscores the importance of solving structures of yet uncharacterized TAAs and their individual domains to estimate the full extent of functions of the protein a priori. Here, we describe recent advances in understanding the translocation process of TAAs and give an overview of structural motifs that are unique to this class of proteins. The role of BpaC in the infection process of Burkholderia pseudomallei is highlighted as an exceptional example of a TAA being at the centre of infection initiation.

Shigella MreB promotes polar IcsA positioning for actin tail formation

Pathogenic Shigella bacteria are a paradigm to address key issues of cell and infection biology. Polar localisation of the Shigella autotransporter protein IcsA is essential for actin tail formation, which is necessary for the bacterium to travel from cell-to-cell; yet how proteins are targeted to the bacterial cell pole is poorly understood. The bacterial actin homologue MreB has been extensively studied in broth culture using model organisms including Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Caulobacter crescentus, but has never been visualised in rod-shaped pathogenic bacteria during infection of host cells. Here, using single-cell analysis of intracellular Shigella, we discover that MreB accumulates at the cell pole of bacteria forming actin tails, where it colocalises with IcsA. Pharmacological inhibition of host cell actin polymerisation and genetic deletion of IcsA is used to show, respectively, that localisation of MreB to the cell poles precedes actin tail formation and polar localisation of IcsA. Finally, by exploiting the MreB inhibitors A22 and MP265, we demonstrate that MreB polymerisation can support actin tail formation. We conclude that Shigella MreB promotes polar IcsA positioning for actin tail formation, and suggest that understanding the bacterial cytoskeleton during host–pathogen interactions can inspire development of new therapeutic regimes for infection control.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

Summary: The pathogen Shigella forms actin tails to move through the cytosol of infected cells. We show that the bacterial actin homologue MreB can help to position the autotransporter protein IcsA for such actin tail formation.

The effects of overexpression of cytoplasmic chaperones on secretory production of hirudin-PA in E. coli

The secretory production of heterologous proteins in E. coli has revolutionized biotechnology. Efficient periplasmic production of foreign proteins in E. coli often requires a signal peptide to direct proteins to the periplasm. However, the presence of attached signal peptide does not guarantee periplasmic expression of target proteins. Overproduction of auxiliary proteins, such as chaperones can be a useful approach to enhance protein export. In the current study, three chaperone plasmid sets, including GroEL-GroES (GroELS), Dnak-Dnaj-GrpE (DnaKJE), and trigger factor (TF), were coexpressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) in a pairwise manner with two pET22-b vectors carrying the recombinant hirudin-PA (Hir) gene and different signal sequences alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) and l-asparaginase II (l-ASP). Overexpression of cytoplasmic combinations of molecular chaperones containing GroELS and DnaKJE with PhoAHir increased the secretory production of PhoAHir by 2.6fold (p < 0.05) and 3.5fold (p < 0.01) compared with their controls, respectively. By contrast, secretory production of PhoAHir significantly reduced in the presence of overexpressed TF (p = 0.02). Further, periplasmic expression of l-ASP was significantly increased only in the presence of DnaKJE (p = 0.04). These findings suggest that using molecular chaperones can be helpful for improving periplasmic expression of Hir. However, tagged signal peptides may affect the physicochemical properties and secondary and tertiary structures of mature Hir, which may alter their interactions with chaperones. Hence, using overexpressed chaperones has various effects on secretory production of PhoAHir and l-ASPHir.

Protein polarization driven by nucleoid exclusion of DnaK(HSP70)-substrate complexes

Many bacterial proteins require specific subcellular localization for function. How Escherichia coli proteins localize at one pole, however, is still not understood. Here, we show that the DnaK (HSP70) chaperone controls unipolar localization of the Shigella IpaC type III secretion substrate. While preventing the formation of lethal IpaC aggregates, DnaK promoted the incorporation of IpaC into large and dynamic complexes (LDCs) restricted at the bacterial pole through nucleoid occlusion. Unlike stable polymers and aggregates, LDCs show dynamic behavior indicating that nucleoid occlusion also applies to complexes formed through transient interactions. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching analysis shows DnaK-IpaC exchanges between opposite poles and DnaKJE-mediated incorporation of immature substrates in LDCs. These findings reveal a key role for LDCs as reservoirs of functional DnaK-substrates that can be rapidly mobilized for secretion triggered upon bacterial contact with host cells.

Many bacterial proteins exhibit spatially defined localization important for function. Here the authors show that the polar localization of Shigella IpaC type III secretion substrate is mediated by its interaction with the DnaK chaperone and occlusion by the bacterial nucleoid.

Cardiolipin Synthesis and Outer Membrane Localization Are Required for Shigella flexneri Virulence

Cardiolipin, an anionic phospholipid that resides at the poles of the inner and outer membranes, is synthesized primarily by the putative cardiolipin synthase ClsA in Shigella flexneri. An S. flexneri clsA mutant had no cardiolipin detected within its membrane, grew normally in vitro, and invaded cultured epithelial cells, but it failed to form plaques in epithelial cell monolayers, indicating that cardiolipin is required for virulence. The clsA mutant was initially motile within the host cell cytoplasm but formed filaments and lost motility during replication and failed to spread efficiently to neighboring cells. Mutation of pbgA, which encodes the transporter for cardiolipin from the inner membrane to the outer membrane, also resulted in loss of plaque formation. The S. flexneri pbgA mutant had normal levels of cardiolipin in the inner membrane, but no cardiolipin was detected in the outer membrane. The pbgA mutant invaded and replicated normally within cultured epithelial cells but failed to localize the actin polymerization protein IcsA properly on the bacterial surface and was unable to spread to neighboring cells. The clsA mutant, but not the pbgA mutant, had increased phosphatidylglycerol in the outer membrane. This appeared to compensate partially for the loss of cardiolipin in the outer membrane, allowing some IcsA localization in the outer membrane of the clsA mutant. We propose a dual function for cardiolipin in S. flexneri pathogenesis. In the inner membrane, cardiolipin is essential for proper cell division during intracellular growth. In the outer membrane, cardiolipin facilitates proper presentation of IcsA on the bacterial surface.

The human pathogen Shigella flexneri causes bacterial dysentery by invading colonic epithelial cells, rapidly multiplying within their cytoplasm, and then spreading intercellularly to neighboring cells. Worldwide, Shigella spp. infect hundreds of millions of people annually, with fatality rates up to 15%. Antibiotic treatment of Shigella infections is compromised by increasing antibiotic resistance, and there is no approved vaccine to prevent future infections. This has created a growing need to understand Shigella pathogenesis and identify new targets for antimicrobial therapeutics. Here we show a previously unknown role of phospholipids in S. flexneri pathogenesis. We demonstrate that cardiolipin is required in the outer membrane for proper surface localization of IcsA and in the inner membrane for cell division during growth in the host cell cytoplasm.

Structural insights into the architecture of the Shigella flexneri virulence factor IcsA/VirG and motifs involved in polar distribution and secretion

IcsA/VirG is a key virulence factor of the human pathogen Shigella flexneri, acting as both an adhesin and actin-polymerizing factor during infection. We identified a soluble expression construct of the IcsA/VirG α-domain using the ESPRIT library screening system and determined its structure to 1.9Å resolution. In addition to the previously characterized autochaperone domain, our structure reveals a new domain, which shares a common fold with the autochaperone domains of various autotransporters. We further provide insight into the previously structurally uncharacterized β-helix domain that harbors the polar targeting motif and passenger-associated transport repeat. This structure is the first of any member of the recently identified passenger-associated transport repeat-containing autotransporters. Thus, it provides new insights into the overall architecture of this class of autotransporters, the function of the identified additional autochaperone domain and the structural properties of motifs involved in polar targeting and secretion of the Shigella flexneri virulence factor IcsA/VirG.

Type V Secretion: the Autotransporter and Two-Partner Secretion Pathways

The autotransporter and two-partner secretion (TPS) pathways are used by E. coli and many other Gram-negative bacteria to delivervirulence factors into the extracellular milieu.Autotransporters arecomprised of an N-terminal extracellular ("passenger") domain and a C-terminal β barrel domain ("β domain") that anchors the protein to the outer membrane and facilitates passenger domain secretion. In the TPS pathway, a secreted polypeptide ("exoprotein") is coordinately expressed with an outer membrane protein that serves as a dedicated transporter. Bothpathways are often grouped together under the heading "type V secretion" because they have many features in common and are used for the secretion of structurally related polypeptides, but it is likely that theyhave distinct evolutionary origins. Although it was proposed many years ago that autotransporterpassenger domains are transported across the outer membrane through a channel formed by the covalently linked β domain, there is increasing evidence that additional factors are involved in the translocation reaction. Furthermore, details of the mechanism of protein secretion through the TPS pathway are only beginning to emerge. In this chapter I discussour current understanding ofboth early and late steps in the biogenesis of polypeptides secreted through type V pathways and current modelsofthe mechanism of secretion.

A small conserved motif supports polarity augmentation of Shigella flexneri IcsA

The rod-shaped enteric intracellular pathogen Shigella flexneri and other Shigella species are the causative agents of bacillary dysentery. S. flexneri are able to spread within the epithelial lining of the gut, resulting in lesion formation, cramps and bloody stools. The outer membrane protein IcsA is essential for this spreading process. IcsA is the initiator of an actin-based form of motility whereby it allows the formation of a filamentous actin 'tail' at the bacterial pole. Importantly, IcsA is specifically positioned at the bacterial pole such that this process occurs asymmetrically. The mechanism of IcsA polarity is not completely understood, but it appears to be a multifactorial process involving factors intrinsic to IcsA and other regulating factors. In this study, we further investigated IcsA polarization by its intramolecular N-terminal and central polar-targeting (PT) regions (nPT and cPT regions, respectively). The results obtained support a role in polar localization for the cPT region and contend the role of the nPT region. We identified single IcsA residues that have measurable impacts on IcsA polarity augmentation, resulting in decreased S. flexneri sprading efficiency. Intriguingly, regions and residues involved in PT clustered around a highly conserved motif which may provide a functional scaffold for polarity-augmenting residues. How these results fit with the current model of IcsA polarity determination is discussed.

Shigella flexneri cell-to-cell spread, and growth and inflammation in mice, is limited by the outer membrane protease IcsP

The Shigella flexneri autotransporter protein IcsA is essential for intra- and intercellular spread, and icsA mutants are attenuated in several models. However, the pathogenic significance of the outer membrane protease IcsP, which orchestrates the polar distribution of IcsA on the bacterial surface, remains unclear. To further examine this point, we constructed icsP mutants in the two most commonly studied S. flexneri strains and evaluated their in vitro and in vivo performance relative to wild type. Both icsP mutants showed aberrant surface distribution of IcsA, but the in vitro consequences depended upon the cell line being used to assess bacterial motility and plaque formation. Evaluating the behaviour of the mutants in two mouse models suggested functional expression of icsP might limit bacterial persistence and the associated inflammation in host tissues, consistent with the findings in one of the three cell lines used.

Analysis on the interaction domain of VirG and apyrase by pull-down assay

VirG is outer membrane protein of Shigella and affects the spread of Shigella. Recently it has been reported that apyrase influences the location of VirG, although the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. The site of interaction between apyrase and VirG is the focus of our research. First we constructed recombinant plasmid pHIS-phoN2 and pS-(v1-1102, v53-758, v759-1102, v53-319, v320-507, v507-758) by denaturation-renaturation, the phoN2:kan mutant of Shigella flexneri 5a M90T by a modified version of the lambda red recombination protocol originally described by Datsenko and Wanner and the complemented strain M90TΔphoN2/pET24a(PhisphoN2). Second, the recombinant plasmid pHIS-phoN2 and the pS-(v1-1102, v53-758, v759-1102, v53-319, v320-507, v507-758) were transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) and induced to express the fusion proteins. Third, the fusion proteins were purified and the interaction of VirG and apyrase was identified by pull-down. Fourth, VirG was divided and the interaction site of apyrase and VirG was determined. Finally, how apyrase affects the function of VirG was analyzed by immunofluorescence. Accordingly, the results provided the data supporting the fact that apyrase combines with the α-domain of VirG to influence the function of VirG.

A polar-localized iron-binding protein determines the polar targeting of Burkholderia BimA autotransporter and actin tail formation

Intracellular bacterial pathogens including Shigella, Listeria, Mycobacteria, Rickettsia and Burkholderia spp. deploy a specialized surface protein onto one pole of the bacteria to induce filamentous actin tail formation for directional movement within host cytosol. The mechanism underlying polar targeting of the actin tail proteins is unknown. Here we perform a transposon screen in Burkholderia thailandensis and identify a conserved bimC that is required for actin tail formation mediated by BimA from B. thailandensis and its closely related pathogenic species B. pseudomallei and B. mallei. bimC is located upstream of bimA in the same operon. Loss of bimC results in even distribution of BimA on the outer membrane surface, where actin polymerization still occurs. BimC is targeted to the same bacterial pole independently of BimA. BimC confers polar targeting of BimA prior to BimA translocation across bacterial inner membrane. BimC is an iron-binding protein, requiring a four-cysteine cluster at the carboxyl terminus. Mutation of the cysteine cluster disrupts BimC polar localization. Truncation analyses identify the transmembrane domain in BimA being responsible for its polar targeting. Consistently, BimC can interact with BimA transmembrane domain in an iron binding-dependent manner. Our study uncovers a new mechanism that determines the polar distribution of bacteria-induced actin tail in infected host cells.

Localization of anionic phospholipids in Escherichia coli cells

Cardiolipin (CL) is an anionic phospholipid with a characteristically large curvature and is of growing interest for two primary reasons: (i) it binds to and regulates many peripheral membrane proteins in bacteria and mitochondria, and (ii) it is distributed asymmetrically in rod-shaped cells and is concentrated at the poles and division septum. Despite the growing number of studies of CL, its function in bacteria remains unknown. 10-N-Nonyl acridine orange (NAO) is widely used to image CL in bacteria and mitochondria, as its interaction with CL is reported to produce a characteristic red-shifted fluorescence emission. Using a suite of biophysical techniques, we quantitatively studied the interaction of NAO with anionic phospholipids under physiologically relevant conditions. We found that NAO is promiscuous in its binding and has photophysical properties that are largely insensitive to the structure of diverse anionic phospholipids to which it binds. Being unable to rely solely on NAO to characterize the localization of CL in Escherichia coli cells, we instead used quantitative fluorescence microscopy, mass spectrometry, and mutants deficient in specific classes of anionic phospholipids. We found CL and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) concentrated in the polar regions of E. coli cell membranes; depletion of CL by genetic approaches increased the concentration of PG at the poles. Previous studies suggested that some CL-binding proteins also have a high affinity for PG and display a pattern of cellular localization that is not influenced by depletion of CL. Framed within the context of these previous experiments, our results suggest that PG may play an essential role in bacterial physiology by maintaining the anionic character of polar membranes.

Polar localization of Escherichia coli chemoreceptors requires an intact Tol-Pal complex

Subcellular biomolecular localization is critical for the metabolic and structural properties of the cell. The functional implications of the spatiotemporal distribution of protein complexes during the bacterial cell cycle have long been acknowledged; however, the molecular mechanisms for generating and maintaining their dynamic localization in bacteria are not completely understood. Here we demonstrate that the trans-envelope Tol-Pal complex, a widely conserved component of the cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria, is required to maintain the polar positioning of chemoreceptor clusters in Escherichia coli. Localization of the chemoreceptors was independent of phospholipid composition of the membrane and the curvature of the cell wall. Instead, our data indicate that chemoreceptors interact with components of the Tol-Pal complex and that this interaction is required to polarly localize chemoreceptor clusters. We found that disruption of the Tol-Pal complex perturbs the polar localization of chemoreceptors, alters cell motility, and affects chemotaxis. We propose that the E. coli Tol-Pal complex restricts mobility of the chemoreceptor clusters at the cell poles and may be involved in regulatory mechanisms that co-ordinate cell division and segregation of the chemosensory machinery.

Chaperone networking facilitates protein targeting to the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane

Nascent polypeptides emerging from the ribosome are assisted by a pool of molecular chaperones and targeting factors, which enable them to efficiently partition as cytosolic, integral membrane or exported proteins. Extensive genetic and biochemical analyses have significantly expanded our knowledge of chaperone tasking throughout this process. In bacteria, it is known that the folding of newly-synthesized cytosolic proteins is mainly orchestrated by three highly conserved molecular chaperones, namely Trigger Factor (TF), DnaK (HSP70) and GroEL (HSP60). Yet, it has been reported that these major chaperones are strongly involved in protein translocation pathways as well. This review describes such essential molecular chaperone functions, with emphasis on both the biogenesis of inner membrane proteins and the post-translational targeting of presecretory proteins to the Sec and the twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathways. Critical interplay between TF, DnaK, GroEL and other molecular chaperones and targeting factors, including SecB, SecA, the signal recognition particle (SRP) and the redox enzyme maturation proteins (REMPs) is also discussed. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Protein trafficking and secretion in bacteria. Guest Editors: Anastassios Economou and Ross Dalbey.

Proteomic profiling of Rhizobium tropici PRF 81: identification of conserved and specific responses to heat stress

Background

Rhizobium tropici strain PRF 81 (= SEMIA 4080) has been used in commercial inoculants for application to common-bean crops in Brazil since 1998, due to its high efficiency in fixing nitrogen, competitiveness against indigenous rhizobial populations and capacity to adapt to stressful tropical conditions, representing a key alternative to application of N-fertilizers. The objective of our study was to obtain an overview of adaptive responses to heat stress of strain PRF 81, by analyzing differentially expressed proteins when the bacterium is grown at 28°C and 35°C.

Results

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) revealed up-regulation of fifty-nine spots that were identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF-TOF. Differentially expressed proteins were associated with the functional COG categories of metabolism, cellular processes and signaling, information storage and processing. Among the up-regulated proteins, we found some related to conserved heat responses, such as molecular chaperones DnaK and GroEL, and other related proteins, such as translation factors EF-Tu, EF-G, EF-Ts and IF2. Interestingly, several oxidative stress-responsive proteins were also up-regulated, and these results reveal the diversity of adaptation mechanisms presented by this thermotolerant strain, suggesting a cross-talk between heat and oxidative stresses.

Conclusions

Our data provide valuable protein-expression information relevant to the ongoing genome sequencing of strain PRF 81, and contributes to our still-poor knowledge of the molecular determinants of the thermotolerance exhibited by R. tropici species.

Characterization of the secretion pathway of the collagen adhesin EmaA of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans

The extracellular matrix protein adhesin A (EmaA) surface antennae-like structures of the periodontal pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans are composed of three identical protein monomers. Recently, we have demonstrated that the protein is synthesized with an extended signal peptide of 56 amino acids necessary for membrane targeting and protein translocation. In this study, EmaA secretion was demonstrated to be reliant on a chaperone-dependent secretion pathway. Deletion of secB partially reduced but did not abolish the amount of EmaA in the membrane. This observation was attributed to an increase in the synthesis of DnaK in the ΔsecB strain. Overexpression of a DnaK substitution mutant (A174T), with diminished activity, in the ΔsecB strain further reduced the amount of EmaA in the membrane. Expression of dnaK A174T in the wild-type strain did not affect the amount of EmaA in the membrane when grown under optimal growth conditions at 37°C. However, EmaA was found to be reduced when this strain was grown at heat-shock temperature. A chromosomal deletion of amino acids 16-39 of the EmaA extended signal peptide, transformed with either the wild-type or dnaK A174T-expressing plasmid, did not affect the amount of EmaA in the membrane. In addition, the level of EmaA in a ΔsecB/emaA(-) double mutant strain expressing EmaAΔ16-39 was unchanged when grown at both temperatures. The data suggest that chaperones are required for the targeting of EmaA to the membrane and a specific region of the signal peptide is necessary for secretion under stress conditions.

Identification of ZapD as a cell division factor that promotes the assembly of FtsZ in Escherichia coli

The tubulin homolog FtsZ forms a polymeric membrane-associated ring structure (Z ring) at midcell that establishes the site of division and provides an essential framework for the localization of a multiprotein molecular machine that promotes division in Escherichia coli. A number of regulatory proteins interact with FtsZ and modulate FtsZ assembly/disassembly processes, ensuring the spatiotemporal integrity of cytokinesis. The Z-associated proteins (ZapA, ZapB, and ZapC) belong to a group of FtsZ-regulatory proteins that exhibit functionally redundant roles in stabilizing FtsZ-ring assembly by binding and bundling polymeric FtsZ at midcell. In this study, we report the identification of ZapD (YacF) as a member of the E. coli midcell division machinery. Genetics and cell biological evidence indicate that ZapD requires FtsZ but not other downstream division proteins for localizing to midcell, where it promotes FtsZ-ring assembly via molecular mechanisms that overlap with ZapA. Biochemical evidence indicates that ZapD directly interacts with FtsZ and promotes bundling of FtsZ protofilaments. Similarly to ZapA, ZapB, and ZapC, ZapD is dispensable for division and therefore belongs to the growing group of FtsZ-associated proteins in E. coli that aid in the overall fitness of the division process.

Identification and characterization of ZapC, a stabilizer of the FtsZ ring in Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli, spatiotemporal control of cell division occurs at the level of the assembly/disassembly process of the essential cytoskeletal protein FtsZ. A number of regulators interact with FtsZ and modulate the dynamics of the assembled FtsZ ring at the midcell division site. In this article, we report the identification of an FtsZ stabilizer, ZapC (Z-associated protein C), in a protein localization screen conducted with E. coli. ZapC colocalizes with FtsZ at midcell and interacts directly with FtsZ, as determined by a protein-protein interaction assay in yeast. Cells lacking or overexpressing ZapC are slightly elongated and have aberrant FtsZ ring morphologies indicative of a role for ZapC in FtsZ regulation. We also demonstrate the ability of purified ZapC to promote lateral bundling of FtsZ in a sedimentation reaction visualized by transmission electron microscopy. While ZapC lacks sequence similarity with other nonessential FtsZ regulators, ZapA and ZapB, all three Zap proteins appear to play an important role in FtsZ regulation during rapid growth. Taken together, our results suggest a key role for lateral bundling of the midcell FtsZ polymers in maintaining FtsZ ring stability during division.