Scaffold-scaffold interaction facilitates cell polarity development in Caulobacter crescentus

Cell polarity development is the prerequisite for cell differentiation and generating biodiversity. In the model bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, the polarization of scaffold protein PopZ during the pre-divisional cell stage plays a central role in asymmetric cell division. However, our understanding of the spatiotemporal regulation of PopZ localization remains incomplete. In the current study, a direct interaction between PopZ and the new-pole scaffold PodJ is revealed, which plays a primary role in triggering the new pole accumulation of PopZ. The coiled-coil 4-6 domain in PodJ is responsible for interacting with PopZ in vitro and promoting PopZ transition from monopolar to bipolar in vivo. Elimination of the PodJ-PopZ interaction impairs the PopZ-mediated chromosome segregation by affecting both the positioning and partitioning of the ParB-parS centromere. Further analyses of PodJ and PopZ from other bacterial species indicate this scaffold-scaffold interaction may represent a widespread strategy for spatiotemporal regulation of cell polarity in bacteria.