Anuradha Janakiraman

Research:

In Escherichia coli, cell division requires the assembly of a large number of proteins at midcell. These proteins are involved in chromosome segregation, septum formation, and binary cell division. The earliest identified event in bacterial cytokinesis is the polymerization of a ring structure (FtsZ ring) at midcell by FtsZ, a tubulin-like GTPase. The FtsZ ring serves as a framework for assembly of the rest of the division machinery. The assembly dynamics of FtsZ are influenced by a large group of FtsZ-regulatory proteins that ensure the spatial and temporal integrity of the FtsZ ring. Our laboratory is investigating the regulatory events that result in optimal FtsZ ring dynamics in vivo, by studying the molecular interactions amongst FtsZ ring stabilizers and inhibitors. Using molecular biology, genetics, microscopy and biochemical techniques, we are examining not only how FtsZ assembly dynamics are maintained in E. coli but also the general molecular mechanisms that regulate spatial localization of bacterial proteins.

Recent Publications:

• Janakiraman, A. and M.B. Goldberg. 2004. Evidence for polar positional information in E. coli independent of cell division and nucleoid occlusion. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 101(3):835-840.
• Janakiraman, A. and M. B. Goldberg. 2004. Recent advances on the development of bacterial poles. Trends Microbiol., 12 (11):518-525.
• Janakiraman, A., J. Ikeda, D.G. Kehres, M.E. Maguire and J. M. Slauch. 2005. Transcriptional regulation  of  sitABCD of Salmonella  enterica  serovar Typhimurium  by MntR  and  Fur.  J. Bacteriol., 187 (3):912-922.
• Nie, L., Y. Ren, A. Janakiraman, S. Smith, and H. Schulz. 2008. A Novel Paradigm of Fatty Acid ß-Oxidation Exemplified by the Thioesterase-catalyzed Partial Degradation of Conjugated Linoleic Acid That Fully Supports Growth of E. coli. Biochemistry. 47(36):9618-9626.
• Janakiraman, A., K.R. Fixen, A.N. Gray, H. Niki and M.B. Goldberg. 2009. Genome-scale proteomic screen identifies role for DnaK in chaperoning of polar autotransporters in Shigella. J. Bacteriol., 191 (20):6300-6311.
• K.R. Fixen, A. Janakiraman, S.J. Garrity, A.N. Gray, A. Hochschild, and M.B. Goldberg. 2009 Extracytoplasmic signaling by a cell division protein in the establishment of bacterial polarity. (Submitted)