Cloning and sequencing of the ftsZ gene from a deep-sea piezophilic bacterium,(Shewanella violacea strain DSS12)

We have cloned and sequenced the ftsZ gene, encoding a protein essential for cell division, from a λ phage library of the chromosome of the deep-sea bacterium Shewanella violacea strain DSS12. This gene, 1,179 bp in length, was found to encode a protein consisting of 392 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 40,727 Da. Significant homology was evident comparing the ftsZ gene of S. violacea with that of Escherichia coli (63% identity), Pseudomonas putida (51% identity), Bacillus subtilis (48% identity), and Streptomyces coelicolor (43% identity). Comparison of the amino acid sequences of the FtsZ proteins of S. violacea and E. coli revealed the presence of a GTPase domain in N-terminal portion and a specific conserved region in the C-terminal portion (extreme C-terminus) which is associated with other cell division proteins. A variable region between the GTPase domain and the C-terminal region was also observed. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rDNAs and FtsZ proteins of several bacteria showed that S. violacea is closely related to E. coli.