Feedback and comments are very welcome!

This suggests that FtsZ's disordered C-terminal linker may encode geometric information and that this could have an evolutionary role!

Marko also found that "diluting" the CTL in a filament, by mixing WT FtsZ and a version without linker, drastically reduces ring diameter:

In vitro, increasing the charge segregation in the linker increased filament curvature and decreased Z-ring size! Treadmilling dynamics were unaffected.

We examined ~4,600 FtsZ sequences and found that charge segregation in the disordered CTL appears to correlate with cell width across species: FtsZ from wider bacteria tends to have more uniform charge distribution in the linker, whereas high charge segregation is mostly found in skinny cells.

here is the correct link: ista.ac.at/en/job/tenur...

Great, looking forward!

*salary is € 1,523* gross/month!

Thank you, Thibaut!

We’re excited to share this story and would love your feedback!

The discovery of dynamic instability in a non-polar filament also raises key mechanistic questions: how are such filament dynamics generated, and how do these polymers shape cells?

These findings challenge the idea that ParMR systems are limited to plasmid segregation. Their plasticity may have enabled other functional innovations across evolution.

and another surprising discovery was that the cell division inhibitor MinC has acquired a second role in these Cyanobacteria: MinC evolved to now also disassemble CorM filaments, a striking case of functional expansion!

Benjamin was also able to acquire fantastic live cell movies of CorM filament dynamics:

In vitro reconstitution & cryo-EM show CorM forms dynamically instable, non-polar filaments—an architecture distinct from all known actin- or tubulin-based systems!

We built the first comprehensive phylogeny of ParMR systems, uncovering transitions from plasmids to chromosomes and unexpected functional diversity across the tree of life.

By combining structural, evolutionary, in vitro reconstitution and cell biology approaches we uncovered a new cytoskeletal system - called CorMR - that evolved from a ParMR system.

This project was initiated and led by fantastic postdoc Benjamin Springstein, @huepfkiesel.bsky.social in a collaboration with the labs of Florian Schur (cryo-EM)
@schurlab.bsky.social at ‪@istaresearch.bsky.social‬ and Daniela Megrian (phylogenetics) from ‪@ipmontevideo.bsky.social‬