title: The role of cytoskeletal elements in shaping bacterial cells.
abstract: Beginning from the recognition of FtsZ as a bacterial tubulin homolog in the early 1990s, many bacterial cytoskeletal elements have been identified, including homologs to the major eukaryotic cytoskeletal elements (tubulin, actin, and intermediate filament) and the elements unique in prokaryotes (ParA/MinD family and bactofilins). The discovery and functional characterization of the bacterial cytoskeleton have revolutionized our understanding of bacterial cells, revealing their elaborate and dynamic subcellular organization. As in eukaryotic systems, the bacterial cytoskeleton participates in cell division, cell morphogenesis, DNA segregation, and other important cellular processes. However, in accordance with the vast difference between bacterial and eukaryotic cells, many bacterial cytoskeletal proteins play distinct roles from their eukaryotic counterparts; for example, control of cell wall synthesis for cell division and morphogenesis. This review is aimed at providing an overview of the bacterial cytoskeleton, and discussing the roles and assembly dynamics of bacterial cytoskeletal proteins in more detail in relation to their most widely conserved functions, DNA segregation and coordination of cell wall synthesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Hongbaek
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000502:physiology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000502:physiology*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000502:physiology; D014404:Tubulin / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D014404:Tubulin