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FtsZ is a protein encoded by the ftsZ gene that assembles into a ring at the future site of bacterial cell division. FtsZ is a prokaryotic homologue of the eukaryotic protein tubulin. The initials FtsZ mean "Filamenting temperature-sensitive mutant Z." The hypothesis was that cell division mutants of E. coli would grow as filaments due to the inability of the daughter cells to separate from one another. FtsZ is found in almost all bacteria, many archaea, all chloroplasts and some mitochondria, where it is essential for cell division. FtsZ assembles the cytoskeletal scaffold of the Z ring that, along with additional proteins, constricts to divide the cell in two.
The nucleoid is an irregularly shaped region within the prokaryotic cell that contains all or most of the genetic material. The chromosome of a prokaryote is circular, and its length is very large compared to the cell dimensions needing it to be compacted in order to fit. In contrast to the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell, it is not surrounded by a nuclear membrane. Instead, the nucleoid forms by condensation and functional arrangement with the help of chromosomal architectural proteins and RNA molecules as well as DNA supercoiling. The length of a genome widely varies and a cell may contain multiple copies of it.
RecA is a 38 kilodalton protein essential for the repair and maintenance of DNA. A RecA structural and functional homolog has been found in every species in which one has been seriously sought and serves as an archetype for this class of homologous DNA repair proteins. The homologous protein is called RAD51 in eukaryotes and RadA in archaea.
The bacterial outer membrane is found in gram-negative bacteria. Its composition is distinct from that of the inner cytoplasmic cell membrane - among other things, the outer leaflet of the outer membrane of many gram-negative bacteria includes a complex lipopolysaccharide whose lipid portion acts as an endotoxin - and in some bacteria such as E. coli it is linked to the cell's peptidoglycan by Braun's lipoprotein.
Galactoside permease is a protein coded by the lacY gene of the lac operon, and is found bound to the membrane of a cell for the purpose of binding galactoside molecules that have been solubilized. The protein is part of a system whose main function is to catalyze the accumulation and transport of lactose and other beta-galactosides across the permeable barrier of a membrane.
Bacterial display is a protein engineering technique used for in vitro protein evolution. Libraries of polypeptides displayed on the surface of bacteria can be screened using flow cytometry or iterative selection procedures (biopanning). This protein engineering technique allows us to link the function of a protein with the gene that encodes it. Bacterial display can be used to find target proteins with desired properties and can be used to make affinity ligands which are cell-specific. This system can be used in many applications including the creation of novel vaccines, the identification of enzyme substrates and finding the affinity of a ligand for its target protein.
Filamentation is the anomalous growth of certain bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, in which cells continue to elongate but do not divide. The cells that result from elongation without division have multiple chromosomal copies. In the absence of antibiotics or other stressors, filamentation occurs at a low frequency in bacterial populations, the increased cell length protecting bacteria from protozoan predation and neutrophil phagocytosis by making ingestion of the cells more difficult. Filamentation is also thought to protect bacteria from antibiotics, and is associated with other aspects of bacterial virulence such as biofilm formation. The number and length of filaments within a bacterial population increases when the bacteria are treated with various chemical and physical agents. Some of the key genes involved in filamentation in E. coli include sulA and minCD.
All microorganisms, with a few exceptions, have highly conserved DNA sequences in their genome that are transcribed and translated to efflux pumps. Efflux pumps are capable of moving a variety of different toxic compounds out of cells, such as antibiotics, heavy metals, organic pollutants, plant-produced compounds, quorum sensing signals, bacterial metabolites and neurotransmitters via active efflux, which is vital part for xenobiotic metabolism. This active efflux mechanism is responsible for various types of resistance to bacterial pathogens within bacterial species - the most concerning being antibiotic resistance because microorganisms can have adapted efflux pumps to divert toxins out of the cytoplasm and into extracellular media.
Prokaryotic DNA Replication is the process by which a prokaryote duplicates its DNA into another copy that is passed on to daughter cells. Although it is often studied in the model organism E. coli, other bacteria show many similarities. Replication is bi-directional and originates at a single origin of replication (OriC). It consists of three steps: Initiation, elongation, and termination.
Type three secretion system is a protein appendage found in several Gram-negative bacteria.
The prokaryotic cytoskeleton is the collective name for all structural filaments in prokaryotes. It was once thought that prokaryotic cells did not possess cytoskeletons, but advances in visualization technology and structure determination led to the discovery of filaments in these cells in the early 1990s. Not only have analogues for all major cytoskeletal proteins in eukaryotes been found in prokaryotes, cytoskeletal proteins with no known eukaryotic homologues have also been discovered. Cytoskeletal elements play essential roles in cell division, protection, shape determination, and polarity determination in various prokaryotes.
The SecY protein is the main transmembrane subunit of the bacterial Sec or Type II secretory pathway and a protein-secreting ATPase complex, also known as a SecYEG translocon. Homologs of the SecYEG complex are found in eukaryotes and in archaea, where the subunit is known as Sec61α.
In molecular biology, the ars operon is an operon found in several bacterial taxon. It is required for the detoxification of arsenate, arsenite, and antimonite. This system transports arsenite and antimonite out of the cell. The pump is composed of two polypeptides, the products of the arsA and arsB genes. This two-subunit enzyme produces resistance to arsenite and antimonite. Arsenate, however, must first be reduced to arsenite before it is extruded. A third gene, arsC, expands the substrate specificity to allow for arsenate pumping and resistance. ArsC is an approximately 150-residue arsenate reductase that uses reduced glutathione (GSH) to convert arsenate to arsenite with a redox active cysteine residue in the active site. ArsC forms an active quaternary complex with GSH, arsenate, and glutaredoxin 1 (Grx1). The three ligands must be present simultaneously for reduction to occur.
SecD and SecF are prokaryotic protein export membrane proteins. They are a part of the larger multimeric protein export complex comprising SecA, D, E, F, G, Y, and YajC. SecD and SecF are required to maintain a proton motive force.
The Min System is a mechanism composed of three proteins MinC, MinD, and MinE used by E. coli as a means of properly localizing the septum prior to cell division. Each component participates in generating a dynamic oscillation of FtsZ protein inhibition between the two bacterial poles to precisely specify the mid-zone of the cell, allowing the cell to accurately divide in two. This system is known to function in conjunction with a second negative regulatory system, the nucleoid occlusion system (NO), to ensure proper spatial and temporal regulation of chromosomal segregation and division.
The MinC protein is one of three proteins in the Min system encoded by the minB operon and which is required to generate pole to pole oscillations prior to bacterial cell division as a means of specifying the midzone of the cell. This function is achieved by preventing the formation of the divisome Z-ring around the poles.
The MinE protein is one of three proteins of the Min system encoded by the minB operon required to generate pole to pole oscillations prior to bacterial cell division as a means of specifying the midzone of the cell, as seen in E.coli.
FtsA is a bacterial protein that is related to actin by overall structural similarity and in its ATP binding pocket.
ZnuABC is a high-affinity transporter specialized for transporting zinc ions as part of a system for metal ion homeostasis in bacteria. The complex is a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter protein family. The transporter contains three protein components:
The divisome is a protein complex in bacteria that is responsible for cell division, constriction of inner and outer membranes during division, and peptidoglycan (PG) synthesis at the division site. The divisome is a membrane protein complex with proteins on both sides of the cytoplasmic membrane. In gram-negative cells it is located in the inner membrane. The divisome is nearly ubiquitous in bacteria although its composition may vary between species.
References
- ↑ de Boer PA, Crossley RE, Hand AR, Rothfield LI (1991). "The MinD protein is a membrane ATPase required for the correct placement of the Escherichia coli division site". The EMBO Journal. 10 (13): 4371–80. PMC 453190 . PMID 1836760.
- 1 2 Raskin DM; de Boer PA. (1999). "Rapid pole-to-pole oscillation of a protein required for directing division to the middle of Escherichia coli". PNAS. 96 (9): 4971–6. doi:10.1073/pnas.96.9.4971. PMC 21801 . PMID 10220403.
- ↑ Hu Z; Lutkenhaus J. (2001). "Topological regulation of cell division in E. coli. spatiotemporal oscillation of MinD requires stimulation of its ATPase by MinE and phospholipid". Molecular Cell. 7 (6): 1337–43. doi: 10.1016/S1097-2765(01)00273-8 . PMID 11430835.
- ↑ Martin Loose; Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich; Jonas Ries; Karsten Kruse; Petra Schwille (2008). "Spatial Regulators for Bacterial Cell Division Self-Organize into Surface Waves in Vitro". Science. 320 (5877): 789–792. doi:10.1126/science.1154413. PMID 18467587.