Cell biology of prokaryotic organelles.
Mounting evidence in recent years has challenged the dogma that prokaryotes are simple and undefined cells devoid of an organized subcellular architecture. In fact, proteins once thought to be the purely eukaryotic inventions, including relatives of actin and tubulin control prokaryotic cell shape, DNA segregation, and cytokinesis. Similarly, compartmentalization, commonly noted as a distinguishing feature of eukaryotic cells, is also prevalent in the prokaryotic world in the form of protein-bounded and lipid-bounded organelles. In this article we highlight some of these prokaryotic organelles and discuss the current knowledge on their ultrastructure and the molecular mechanisms of their biogenesis and maintenance.
Murat
Dorothee
D
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-3102, USA.
Byrne
Meghan
M
Komeili
Arash
A
D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000378:metabolism; D055944:Magnetosomes / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D042201:Magnetospirillum / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015388:Organelles / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011387:Prokaryotic Cells / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
D008051:Lipid Bilayers