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0962-8924/$ see front matter 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tcb.2007.03.005
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a
The proteins listed above have been categorized according to their homology to eukaryotic cytoskeletal proteins. In white are actin homologs, in yellow, the tubulin homolog;
in green, intermediate filament homolog; in orange, the MinDParA superfamily, which does not have any counterpart in the eukaryotic cytoskeleton.
b
The references listed provide recent insights into the molecular mechanism of these proteins in contributing to cellular organization. More information on the bacterial
cytoskeletal elements that are not discussed here can be found in a separate recent review [1].
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[I]
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Figure 1. Cytoskeletal-mediated movement of DNA in bacteria. Schematics of the in vivo segregation dynamics, on the left, and a molecular model, on the right, are
presented for two distinct cytoskeletal partitioning mechanisms. (a) The actin-like ParM forms a bundle of filaments in-between duplicated plasmids that elongates as
plasmids segregate to the poles. These filaments are bound through the DNA-binding protein ParR (green) to a specific site on the plasmid, parC. Insertion of ATPmonomers (red) at the growing tip of filaments is proposed to exert force on the plasmids, separating the two copies (in the direction of the arrows). ADP-monomers (blue)
accumulate in the filament, owing to its hydrolysis activity, making the filament unstable and subject to rapid depolymerization. When bound to the DNA through ParR,
however, the filaments are presumably protected from depolymerization. (b) V. cholerae ParAI (yellow) forms filaments that extend from the cell pole to attach to an origin
proximal region of chromosome I as it is segregating. Again, a DNA-binding protein, ParB (green), appears to mediate the interaction between ParA and the DNA. As the
migration of the chromosome continues, the ParAI filaments shrink toward the new pole (in the direction of the arrow). This pattern is consistent with a model that ParAI
exerts force on the DNA, pulling it to the pole, although this mechanism has not been confirmed.
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References
1 Shih, Y.L. and Rothfield, L. (2006) The bacterial cytoskeleton.
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 70, 729754
www.sciencedirect.com
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Endeavour
Coming soon in the quarterly magazine for the history and philosophy of science:
Earthquake theories in the early modern period by F. Willmoth
Science in fiction - attempts to make a science out of literary criticism by J. Adams
The birth of botanical Drosophila by S. Leonelli
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