title: Control of cell shape in bacteria: helical, actin-like filaments in Bacillus subtilis.
abstract: In the absence of an overt cytoskeleton, the external cell wall of bacteria has traditionally been assumed to be the primary determinant of cell shape. In the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis, two related genes, mreB and mbl, were shown to be required for different aspects of cell morphogenesis. Subcellular localization of the MreB and Mbl proteins revealed that each forms a distinct kind of filamentous helical structure lying close to the cell surface. The distribution of the proteins in different species of bacteria, and the similarity of their sequence to eukaryotic actins, suggest that the MreB-like proteins have a cytoskeletal, actin-like role in bacterial cell morphogenesis.
authors: Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom.
authors: L J
authors: LJ
authors: Jones
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Carballido-López
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Errington
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C424044:mbl protein, Bacillus subtilis; C078473:MreB protein, E coli