Split decision: a thaumarchaeon encoding both FtsZ and Cdv cell division proteins chooses Cdv for cytokinesis

Cdv-based cell division and cell cycle organization in the thaumarchaeon Nitrosopumilus maritimus.

Cell division is mediated by different mechanisms in different evolutionary lineages. While bacteria and euryarchaea utilize an FtsZ-based mechanism, most crenarchaea divide using the Cdv system, related to the eukaryotic ESCRT-III machinery. Intriguingly, thaumarchaeal genomes encode both FtsZ and Cdv protein homologues, raising the question of their division mode. Here, we provide evidence in...

Dividing the Archaeal Way: The Ancient Cdv Cell-Division Machinery

Cell division in most prokaryotes is mediated by the well-studied fts genes, with FtsZ as the principal player. In many archaeal species, however, division is orchestrated differently. The Crenarchaeota phylum of archaea features the action of the three proteins, CdvABC. This Cdv system is a unique and less-well-studied division mechanism that merits closer inspection. In vivo, the three Cdv pr...

Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) in Another Big Cat: Should CDV Be Renamed Carnivore Distemper Virus?

One of the greatest threats to the conservation of wild cat populations may be dogs or, at least, one of their viruses. Canine distemper virus (CDV), a single-stranded RNA virus in the Paramyxoviridae family and genus Morbillivirus, infects and causes disease in a variety of species, not just canids. An outbreak of CDV in wild lions in the Serengeti, Tanzania, in 1994 was a wake-up call for con...

The Nitrosopumilus maritimus CdvB, but Not FtsZ, Assembles into Polymers

Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota are two major phyla of archaea which use distinct molecular apparatuses for cell division. Euryarchaea make use of the tubulin-related protein FtsZ, while Crenarchaea, which appear to lack functional FtsZ, employ the Cdv (cell division) components to divide. Ammonia oxidizing archaeon (AOA) Nitrosopumilus maritimus belongs to another archaeal phylum, the Thaumarc...

Real-time Rt-pcr for Cdv Viremia and Shedding