The ParA/MinD family puts things in their place

Bacteria must segregate their DNA and position a septum to grow and divide. In many bacteria, MinD is involved in spatial regulation of the cytokinetic Z ring, and ParAs are involved in chromosome and plasmid segregation. The use of the MinD/ParA family to provide positional information for spatial organization continues to expand with the recognition that orphan ParAs are required for segregating cytoplasmic protein clusters and the polar localization of chemotaxis proteins, conjugative transfer machinery, type IV pili, and cellulose synthesis. Also, some bacteria lacking MinD use orphan ParAs to regulate cell division. Positioning of MinD/ParA proteins is either due to self-organization on a surface or reliance on a landmark protein that functions as a molecular beacon.