The mechanism of bacterial asymmetric cell division

Asymmetric cell division generates two cells that contain different regulatory proteins and express different fates. In an example of asymmetric cell division from B. subtilis, a site on the membrane of the dividing cell is chosen to establish the initial asymmetry. Recent results((1,2)) show that a key regulatory protein, SpoIIE, is localized to one side of a sporulating B. subtilis cell, and subsequently functions in an asymmetric manner. SpoIIE is a phosphatase at the beginning of a regulatory cascade that leads to activation of a cell fate-determining transcription factor in only one daughter cell.