The minCDE genes are organized as an operon (top left). In the bacterial cell, MinD (green) and MinE (magenta) self-organize to perform pole-to-pole oscillations, thereby guiding the bacterial division machinery (Z-ring, shown in orange) to the midplane (bottom left). The active form MinD-ATP binds to the membrane (grey lipid bilayer) and recruits MinC, which inhibits the polymerization of the division protein FtsZ (right). MinE can switch from an active to a latent form 10 , 26 , and the membrane-bound MinD-ATP mainly recruits the active MinE. MinE stimulates ATP hydrolysis by MinD (MinD-ATP MinD-ADP), and MinD-ADP is released to the cytoplasm. The pole-to-pole oscillations resulting from this biochemical reactiondiffusion system ensure that the concentration of MinD-ATP is highest at the cell poles, thus inhibiting cell division therein.
