EF1025, a Hypothetical Protein From , Interacts With DivIVA and Affects Cell Length and Cell Shape.

DivIVA plays multifaceted roles in Gram-positive organisms through its association with various cell division and non-cell division proteins. We report a novel DivIVA interacting protein in , named EF1025 (encoded by ), which is conserved in Gram-positive bacteria. The interaction of EF1025 with DivIVA was confirmed by Bacterial Two-Hybrid, Glutathione S-Transferase pull-down, and co-immunoprecipitation assays. EF1025, which contains a DNA binding domain and two Cystathionine β-Synthase (CBS) domains, forms a decamer mediated by the two CBS domains. Viable cells were recovered after insertional inactivation or deletion of only through complementation of . These cells were longer than the average length of cells and had distorted shapes. Overexpression of also resulted in cell elongation. Immuno-staining revealed comparable localization patterns of EF1025 and DivIVA in the later stages of division in cells. In summary, EF1025 is a novel DivIVA interacting protein influencing cell length and morphology in .