Role of the ftsA gene product in control of Escherichia coli cell division

Abstract

The kinetics of cell division were studied in a strain of E. coli which has an amber mutation in the ftsA gene and which carries a temperature-sensitive amber suppressor. This strain is temperature-sensitive for the synthesis of the ftsA protein. Cells of this strain divided only if the synthesis of this protein took place during a specific part of the cell cycle. This was a short period (roughly 10 min in duration) immediately before the normal time of cell division.