title: Bacterial programmed cell death: making sense of a paradox.
abstract: Although the concept of programmed cell death (PCD) in bacteria has been met with scepticism, a growing body of evidence suggests that it can no longer be ignored. Several recent studies indicate that the phenotypic manifestations of apoptosis, which are processes that are associated with ordered cellular disassembly in eukaryotes, are conserved in bacteria. In this Opinion article, I propose a model for the coordinated control of potential bacterial PCD effectors and argue that the processes involved are functionally analogous to eukaryotic PCD systems.
authors: Center for Staphylococcal Research, Department of Pathology & Microbiology, The University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, USA.
authors: Kenneth W
authors: KW
authors: Bayles
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000166:cytology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology*; D004249:DNA Damage; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000166:cytology; D008954:Models, Biological; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins