title: The mechanism of bacterial asymmetric cell division.
abstract: Asymmetric cell division generates two cells that contain different regulatory proteins and express different fates. In an example of asymmetric cell division from B. subtilis, a site on the membrane of the dividing cell is chosen to establish the initial asymmetry. Recent results show that a key regulatory protein, SpoIIE, is localized to one side of a sporulating B. subtilis cell, and subsequently functions in an asymmetric manner. SpoIIE is a phosphatase at the beginning of a regulatory cascade that leads to activation of a cell fate-determining transcription factor in only one daughter cell.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08855, USA.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Way
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology*; D012808:Sigma Factor; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology; D014157:Transcription Factors
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors; C092468:spoIIR protein, Bacillus subtilis; C030069:spore-specific proteins, Bacillus