The Structure and Function of Prokaryotic Cytoskeleton

Abstract: It was discovered recently that prokaryotes， such as bacteria， possess a cytoskeleton， which has challenged our previous perception of the cytoskeleton as a hallmark of eukaryotic cells. It has been found in bacteria that FtsZ， MreB， CreS， as the bacterial cytoskeletal proteins， were homologous to the three primary eukaryotic cytoskeletal proteins， tubulin， actin filament and intermediate filament， respectively. FtsZ， the major bacterial cell division determinant， forms Z-ring structure that localized in the midcell division site. MreB forms helical filamentous structure underneath the cell membrane， and is important for the maintenance of rod cell shape and for the segregation of chromosomes. CreS， which is found in Caulobacter crescentus， forms a helical structure that colocalized with the inner cell curvatures beneath the cytoplasmic membrane. Moreover， the subcellular localization of the CreS helical structure is important for causing cell curvature or helix.
    

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2006.05.0013