title: Cellular polarity in prokaryotic organisms.
abstract: Simple visual inspection of bacteria indicated that, at least in some otherwise symmetric cells, structures such as flagella were often seen at a single pole. Because these structures are composed of proteins, it was not clear how to reconcile these observations of morphological asymmetry with the widely held view of bacteria as unstructured "bags of enzymes." However, over the last decade, numerous GFP tagged proteins have been found at specific intracellular locations such as the poles of the cells, indicating that bacteria have a high degree of intracellular organization. Here we will explore the role of chromosomal asymmetry and the presence of "new" and "old" poles that result from the cytokinesis of rod-shaped cells in establishing bipolar and monopolar protein localization patterns. This article is intended to be illustrative, not exhaustive, so we have focused on examples drawn largely from Caulobacter crescentus and Bacillus subtilis, two bacteria that undergo dramatic morphological transformation. We will highlight how breaking monopolar symmetry is essential for the correct development of these organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York 10032, USA. jonathan.dworkin@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dworkin
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000502:physiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins
references.citation: Cell. 2008 Sep 19;134(6):956-68
references.pmid: 18805089
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Apr 2;99(7):4632-7
references.pmid: 11930012
references.citation: Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1979 Sep 21;205(1161):581-98
references.pmid: 42062
references.citation: Science. 2004 Jun 4;304(5676):1513-5
references.pmid: 15178803
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2005 Sep;187(17):6187-96
references.pmid: 16109960
references.citation: EMBO J. 2007 Nov 14;26(22):4694-708
references.pmid: 17948052
references.citation: Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2008 Jun;77(6 Pt 1):061902
references.pmid: 18643295
references.citation: Trends Cell Biol. 2004 Oct;14(10):532-6
references.pmid: 15450975
references.citation: Cell. 2006 Mar 10;124(5):1011-23
references.pmid: 16530047
references.citation: Cell. 2006 Mar 10;124(5):1025-37
references.pmid: 16530048
references.citation: Nature. 1999 Oct 7;401(6753):613-6
references.pmid: 10524632
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2008 Sep;69(6):1427-38
references.pmid: 18647166
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2006 Mar;188(5):1680-90
references.pmid: 16484179
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 2008 May 2;283(18):12314-23
references.pmid: 18326496
references.citation: Genes Dev. 1998 Nov 1;12(21):3419-30
references.pmid: 9808628
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2003 Aug;185(15):4326-35
references.pmid: 12867440
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Dec 21;96(26):14706-11
references.pmid: 10611277
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2007 May;64(4):938-52
references.pmid: 17501919
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2006 Jul;188(13):4841-50
references.pmid: 16788193
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2006 Dec;62(6):1547-57
references.pmid: 17427285
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 Feb 17;95(4):1443-8
references.pmid: 9465034
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2005 Mar;55(6):1722-34
references.pmid: 15752196
references.citation: Nat Rev Microbiol. 2003 Nov;1(2):117-26
references.pmid: 15035041
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2006 Aug;188(16):6039-43
references.pmid: 16885474
references.citation: Science. 2009 Mar 6;323(5919):1354-7
references.pmid: 19265022
references.citation: Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2009 Sep;1(3):a003384
references.pmid: 20066112
references.citation: Genes Dev. 2004 Dec 1;18(23):2916-28
references.pmid: 15574594
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2004 Oct;186(19):6643-6
references.pmid: 15375146
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Jul 18;103(29):10929-34
references.pmid: 16829583
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2004 Dec;54(5):1237-49
references.pmid: 15554965
references.citation: EMBO J. 2000 Jun 1;19(11):2719-27
references.pmid: 10835369
references.citation: Annu Rev Genet. 2007;41:429-41
references.pmid: 18076330
references.citation: Annu Rev Genet. 2008;42:211-33
references.pmid: 18605898
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Jun 22;101(25):9257-62
references.pmid: 15178755
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2008 Nov;190(22):7579-83
references.pmid: 18805980
references.citation: Nature. 2009 Jul 23;460(7254):510-4
references.pmid: 19578359
references.citation: Cell. 2008 Sep 19;134(6):945-55
references.pmid: 18805088
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 1997 May;179(9):2823-34
references.pmid: 9139895
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Feb 26;105(8):3076-81
references.pmid: 18287048
references.citation: Trends Microbiol. 2004 Nov;12(11):518-25
references.pmid: 15488393
references.citation: PLoS Comput Biol. 2006 Nov 10;2(11):e151
references.pmid: 17096591
references.citation: Cell. 2003 Dec 12;115(6):705-13
references.pmid: 14675535
references.citation: Nature. 2006 Dec 14;444(7121):899-904
references.pmid: 17136100
references.citation: Cell. 2004 Sep 3;118(5):579-90
references.pmid: 15339663
references.citation: Biophys J. 2008 Aug;95(3):1034-49
references.pmid: 18390605
references.citation: Cell. 2002 Apr 19;109(2):257-66
references.pmid: 12007411
references.citation: Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007 Feb 9;353(2):493-500
references.pmid: 17188233
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2001 Mar;39(6):1471-81
references.pmid: 11260465
references.citation: Cell. 2001 Nov 2;107(3):339-46
references.pmid: 11701124
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 2003 Oct 10;278(41):40050-6
references.pmid: 12882967
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Sep 16;105(37):14136-40
references.pmid: 18779567
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2000 Aug;182(16):4425-9
references.pmid: 10913074
references.citation: Science. 2003 Jan 24;299(5606):532-6
references.pmid: 12493822
references.citation: Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2004 Jun;68(2):234-62
references.pmid: 15187183
references.citation: Genes Genet Syst. 2006 Apr;81(2):69-76
references.pmid: 16755131
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 May 11;101(19):7415-20
references.pmid: 15123835
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2007 Jun;64(6):1455-65
references.pmid: 17504273
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 1975 Feb;121(2):518-23
references.pmid: 803482
references.citation: Science. 2004 Jan 23;303(5657):495-9
references.pmid: 14645856
references.citation: Annu Rev Microbiol. 2007;61:309-29
references.pmid: 17896876
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Jun 8;101(23):8643-8
references.pmid: 15159537
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Jun 25;99(13):8701-6
references.pmid: 12060714
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Mar 18;105(11):4393-8
references.pmid: 18326026
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2005 Nov;58(4):917-28
references.pmid: 16262780
references.citation: Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2006 Sep;70(3):660-703
references.pmid: 16959965
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2000 Mar;182(6):1714-21
references.pmid: 10692378
references.citation: Trends Genet. 2003 Feb;19(2):107-12
references.pmid: 12547520
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2003 Jan;185(2):693-7
references.pmid: 12511520
references.citation: Mol Cell. 1999 Nov;4(5):683-94
references.pmid: 10619016
references.citation: EMBO Rep. 2001 Aug;2(8):685-9
references.pmid: 11463749
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995 Jul 3;92(14):6572-6
references.pmid: 7604035
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2008 Nov;70(4):1037-50
references.pmid: 18976278
references.citation: Nature. 1998 Jan 8;391(6663):203-6
references.pmid: 9428770
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2003 Jul;185(13):3773-9
references.pmid: 12813070
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 1997 Aug;25(4):671-81
references.pmid: 9379897
references.citation: PLoS Comput Biol. 2008 Nov;4(11):e1000233
references.pmid: 19043544
references.citation: Adv Microb Physiol. 2009;54:1-101
references.pmid: 18929067
references.citation: Nature. 1992 May 21;357(6375):257-60
references.pmid: 1589024
references.citation: PLoS Biol. 2005 Feb;3(2):e45
references.pmid: 15685293
references.citation: Curr Biol. 1998 Oct 8;8(20):1102-9
references.pmid: 9778525
references.citation: Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2009 Apr;19(2):166-71
references.pmid: 19321336
references.citation: Annu Rev Microbiol. 2007;61:589-618
references.pmid: 17506674
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2004 May;186(9):2594-602
references.pmid: 15090499