Localization microscopy study of FtsZ structures in E. coli cells during SOS-response

Abstract

Localization microscopy allows visualization of biological structures with resolution well below the diffraction limit. This is achieved by temporal separation of single fluorophore molecules emission and subsequent localization of them with the precision of few tens of nanometers. This method was previously successfully used to obtain images of FtsZ structures in Escherichia coli cells using FtsZ fusion with fluorescent protein mEos2. In this work we obtained superresolution images of FtsZ structures in fixed E. coli cells using immunocytochemical labeling. Comparison of superresolution FtsZ structures in cells undergoing SOS-response and "healthy" cells shows that FtsZ structures are partially disassembled during SOS-response, but still retain some periodicity.