Cdv Cell Division in the Thaumarchaeon N. yellowstonensis
Juliana De Arman
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: José de la Torre
Cell division is critical for cell proliferation in all organisms, but the final step in cell division—cytokinesis—happens differently across the tree of life. Most bacteria and archaea use FtsZ, a tubulin-like molecule, to perform cytokinesis. However, most archaea within TACK superphylum and all Asgard archaea use Cdv-based cytokinesis. In the most well described model of Cdv cell division in the Crenarchaeote Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, three protein families work sequentially the perform cytokinesis by associating to the membrane and forming division “rings” as division progresses. While this model requires all three protein families, many Asgard archaea and some Thaumarchaea have been identified that lack the genes for CdvA. So far, it is unknown how some Thaumarchaea are able to divide without CdvA. We plan to investigate how one Thaumarchaea, Nitrosocaldus yellowstonensis, divides without CdvA in two ways. One: investigating aspects of cell division—such as nucleoid formation, progression of the cleavage furrow—using live fluorescence microscopy, and Two: observing Cdv protein localization and ring formation in dividing cells using immunofluorescent microscopy. This study would describe cell division in superresolution in a Thaumarchaea for the first time, as well as suggest a mechanism for cell division in the absence of CdvA.