Signal transduction: bacterial thermometer works by measuring membrane thickness.
Cells detect external chemical stimuli by directly binding a signaling molecule, but the strategies used by cells to detect and respond to non-chemical cues have been mysterious. Recent work suggests that a bacterial protein detects changes in environmental temperature by physically measuring membrane thickness.
Ramamurthi
Kumaran S
KS
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 37 Convent Dr., Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D002462:Cell Membrane; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013696:Temperature
D001426:Bacterial Proteins