Cell division is a fundamental characteristic of all living organisms. Compared to well-studied cell division mechanisms in Bacteria and Eukarya, we know very little about how cell division occurs in Archaea. Understanding this is of paramount evolutionary importance given that Archaea are considered to be an ancient form of life that gave rise to complex life.
In most Bacteria, cell division is driven by FtsZ, a tubulin-like protein that forms a contractile ring structure at mid-cell. In prior work we revealed that many Archaea divide through the coordinated activities of two distinct FtsZ homologs that form the division ring at mid-cell1. However, how archaeal cells regulate cell division is poorly understood. Recently, we used CRISPR knockdown, chromatin immunoprecipitation- DNA sequencing, transcriptomics, quantitative proteomics, and microscopy to identify and characterize a conserved small protein (CdrS) needed for regulating cell division in a model species of Archaea2. Our data suggest that CdrS is a global transcription factor that is essential for cell survival and plays a central role in cell division by regulating ftsZ expression and genes linked to other metabolic and regulatory processes2. This may allow cells to properly coordinate growth, division, and metabolic activity. Furthermore, among this novel cdrS gene regulatory network, we have discovered new cell division proteins which interact with two FtsZ proteins and modulate the dynamics of the division ring. These studies provide new insights into the cell division machinery in Archaea, and improve our understanding of general principles of cell division and evolution across all cellular life.