Abstract
Molecular Information Processing: Lessons from Bacterial Chemotaxis
Highlights
Extracellular information is converted into a usable intracellular form via signal transduction
Many bacteria live in dynamic environments and utilize information processing systems to constantly monitor their surroundings for important changes
Bacterial species that have invested in a propulsion system are capable of directed movement, or taxis, to most efficiently translocate to a better environment
Summary
Two-component regulatory systems (see Ref. 1 for recent review) are frequently utilized to accomplish signal transduction in microorganisms and plants. The chemotaxis signal transduction network (see Ref. 2 for recent review) represents a variation on this theme, being built around one sensor kinase (CheA) and two response regulators (CheY and CheB), neither of which regulate transcription. Additional proteins both up- and downstream contribute to the control of phosphoryl group flow through the central two-component system, which in turn dictates locomotive behavior. CheV, which has amino acid sequence similarity to CheW and CheY in its N- and C-terminal domains, respectively, functions in both adaptation and receptor coupling [14] Both CheC and CheD appear to function in regulating MCP methylation [15]. Elucidation of the biochemical activities of these proteins, as well as further characterization of their physiological roles within the many chemotaxis systems in which they occur, will be necessary to understand their significance within chemotaxis signaling circuits
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