Cell division in the archaeon Haloferax volcanii relies on two FtsZ proteins with distinct functions in division ring assembly and constriction.

In bacteria, the tubulin homologue FtsZ assembles a cytokinetic ring, termed the Z ring, and plays a key role in the machinery that constricts to divide the cells. Many archaea encode two FtsZ proteins from distinct families, FtsZ1 and FtsZ2, with previously unclear functions. Here, we show that Haloferax volcanii cannot divide properly without either or both FtsZ proteins, but DNA replication continues and cells proliferate in alternative ways, such as blebbing and fragmentation, via remarkable envelope plasticity. FtsZ1 and FtsZ2 colocalize to form the dynamic division ring. However, FtsZ1 can assemble rings independent of FtsZ2, and stabilizes FtsZ2 in the ring, whereas FtsZ2 functions primarily in the constriction mechanism. FtsZ1 also influenced cell shape, suggesting it forms a hub-like platform at midcell for the assembly of shape-related systems too. Both FtsZ1 and FtsZ2 are widespread in archaea with a single S-layer envelope, but archaea with a pseudomurein wall and division septum only have FtsZ1. FtsZ1 is therefore likely to provide a fundamental recruitment role in diverse archaea, and FtsZ2 is required for constriction of a flexible S-layer envelope, where an internal constriction force might dominate the division mechanism, in contrast with the single-FtsZ bacteria and archaea that divide primarily by wall ingrowth.