Our understanding of bacterial cell division arises from research spanning over five decades of research from multidisciplinary approaches including genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, biophysics, and computational modeling. While the goal of this research has been to identify key players in bacterial cell division, most of our understanding of cell division in diderm bacteria is based on research done in Escherichia coli, a Gammaproteobacteria. The model of cell division built off the E. coli work is expansive and describes tens of core proteins critical for cell division, as well as a myriad of accessory proteins. Recent exploration of cell division in other diderm bacteria reveals that a summative model derived from E. coli is not sufficient. In my dissertation, I detail unique features for bacterial cell division found in Alphaproteobacterial members. Specifically, I focus on duplications of FtsZ, expansion of FtsZ C-Terminal Linker (CTL) domains, and the function of FzlA, a clade-specific FtsZ binding partner.

Committee Members

• Dr. Pamela Brown, Chair
• Dr. Elizabeth King
• Dr. Michael Baldwin
• Dr. Chiswili Yves Chabu