The order of the ring: assembly of Escherichia coli cell division components

Summary Topological cues appear to override temporal events in the assembly of the Escherichia coli cell division ring. When a procedure that allows the recruitment of ring components based on their topological properties is used, a concerted mode of assembly of several components of the divisome, rather than a strict linear mode, is revealed. Three multimolecular complexes, the proto‐ring, the periplasmic connector and the peptidoglycan factory, show some degree of concertation for their assembly. In addition, back‐recruitment of all late proteins except FtsN into the division ring occurs even in the absence of proteins incorporated at earlier stages, i.e. FtsA or FtsQ.