Evidence that subcellular localization of a bacterial membrane protein is achieved by diffusion and capture

Bacteria lack an endoplasmic reticulum, a Golgi apparatus, and transport vesicles and yet are capable of sorting and delivering integral membrane proteins to particular sites within the cell with high precision. What is the pathway by which membrane proteins reach their proper subcellular destination in bacteria? We have addressed this question by using green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to a polytopic membrane protein (SpolVFB) that is involved in the process of sporulation in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. SpolVFB-GFP localizes to a region of the sporulating cell known as the outer forespore membrane, which is distinct from the cytoplasmic membrane. Experiments are presented that rule out a mechanism in which SpolVFB-GFP localizes to all membranes but is selectively eliminated from the cytoplasmic membrane by proteolytic degradation and argue against a model in which SpolVFB-GFP is selectively inserted into the outer forespore membrane. Instead, the results are most easily compatible with a model in which SpolVFB-GFP achieves proper localization by insertion into the cytoplasmic membrane followed by diffusion to, and capture in, the outer forespore membrane. The possibility that diffusion and capture is a general feature of protein localization in bacteria is discussed.