David Z. Rudner1 and Richard Losick2
-Author Affiliations
1Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
2The Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Correspondence:rudner@hms.harvard.edu
Abstract
Like their eukaryotic counterparts, bacterial cells have a highly organized internal architecture. Here, we address the question of how proteins localize to particular sites in the cell and how they do so in a dynamic manner. We consider the underlying mechanisms that govern the positioning of proteins and protein complexes in the examples of the divisome, polar assemblies, cytoplasmic clusters, cytoskeletal elements, and organelles. We argue that geometric cues, self-assembly, and restricted sites of assembly are all exploited by the cell to specifically localize particular proteins that we refer to as anchor proteins. These anchor proteins in turn govern the localization of a whole host of additional proteins. Looking ahead, we speculate on the existence of additional mechanisms that contribute to the organization of bacterial cells, such as the nucleoid, membrane microdomains enriched in specific lipids, and RNAs with positional information.
Like their eukaryotic counterparts, bacterial cells have a highly organized internal architecture. Here, we address the question of how proteins localize to particular sites in the cell and how they do so in a dynamic manner. We consider the underlying mechanisms that govern the positioning of proteins and protein complexes in the examples of the divisome, polar assemblies, cytoplasmic clusters, cytoskeletal elements, and organelles. We argue that geometric cues, self-assembly, and restricted sites of assembly are all exploited by the cell to specifically localize particular proteins that we refer to as anchor proteins. These anchor proteins in turn govern the localization of a whole host of additional proteins. Looking ahead, we speculate on the existence of additional mechanisms that contribute to the organization of bacterial cells, such as the nucleoid, membrane microdomains enriched in specific lipids, and RNAs with positional information.
Copyright © 2010 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved
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