Mechanisms of FtsZ-based cell division

Bacteria and archaea build a molecular ring called the Z-ring to pinch themselves in two during division, and this project aims to show exactly how that ring works at the atomic level. Cell division is fundamental to all life, yet the machinery that drives it in bacteria and archaea remains poorly understood. Most antibiotics target cell wall synthesis, but rising resistance means we need new ways to disrupt bacterial growth. Without a clear picture of how the division machinery assembles and activates, designing drugs that block it is guesswork. The team will use electron cryotomography to image complete division planes inside cells, revealing the Z-ring’s structure. They will also analyse the divisome—the protein complex that builds new cell wall—to understand how it polymerises lipid II into peptidoglycan, and test whether they can recreate division from scratch in artificial liposomes. Because some wall-less archaea and bacteria still divide, the work will also uncover alternative mechanisms. If successful, this fundamental science could reveal new targets for antibiotics that block division without triggering existing resistance pathways. It may also enable synthetic biologists to build self-dividing artificial cells, with potential applications in drug delivery or biosensing. The research is curiosity-driven, but past work on bacterial cell division has already led to the development of drugs like the carbapenems.