Prokaryotic origin of the actin cytoskeleton

@article{Ent2001ProkaryoticOO,
  title={Prokaryotic origin of the actin cytoskeleton},
  author={Fusinita van den Ent and Linda A Amos and Jan L{\"o}we},
  journal={Nature},
  year={2001},
  volume={413},
  pages={39-44}
}
It was thought until recently that bacteria lack the actin or tubulin filament networks that organize eukaryotic cytoplasm. However, we show here that the bacterial MreB protein assembles into filaments with a subunit repeat similar to that of F-actin—the physiological polymer of eukaryotic actin. By elucidating the MreB crystal structure we demonstrate that MreB and actin are very similar in three dimensions. Moreover, the crystals contain protofilaments, allowing visualization of actin-like… 
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779 Citations

The Bacterial Actin-Like Cytoskeleton

The dynamic prokaryotic actin-like cytoskeleton is thought to serve as a central organizer for the targeting and accurate positioning of proteins and nucleoprotein complexes, thereby (and by analogy to the eukaryotic cytos skeleton) spatially and temporally controlling macromolecular trafficking in bacterial cells.

A dynamic bacterial cytoskeleton.

Filament Formation of the Escherichia coli Actin-Related Protein, MreB, in Fission Yeast

Cytoskeleton: The missing link

  • A. Schuldt
  • Biology
    Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
  • 2001
Two papers from Cell and Nature uncover the prokaryotic ancestor of actin — MreB, which does not tend to form helical protofilaments like eukaryotic actin but is straighter, contesting the long-held belief that the natural shape ofActin is helical.

OF THE BACTERIAL CYTOSKELETON

■ Abstract The structural elucidation of clear but distant homologs of actin and tubulin in bacteria and GFP labeling of these proteins promises to reinvigorate the field of prokaryotic cell biology.…

Bacterial actin MreB assembles in complex with cell shape protein RodZ

It is shown that the cytoplasmic helix‐turn‐helix motif of Thermotoga maritima RodZ directly interacts with monomeric as well as filamentous MreB and the crystal structure of the complex is presented, which elucidate how the bacterial actin cytoskeleton might be anchored to the membrane to help constrain peptidoglycan synthesis in the periplasm.

eview volution of cytomotive filaments : The cytoskeleton from prokaryotes o eukaryotes

Prokaryotes appear to have a third class of cytomotive filaments, typically associated with surfaces such as membranes or DNA: Walker A cytoskeletal ATPases (WACA).

Structural complexity of filaments formed from the actin and tubulin folds

The history of the structure determination of the eukaryotic actin filament is reviewed to give a sense of context for the discovery of the new ParM filament structures, and the novel ParM geometries are described and it is predicted that even more complex actin-like filaments may exist in bacteria.

F‐actin‐like filaments formed by plasmid segregation protein ParM

It is shown here that ParM polymerizes into double helical protofilaments with a longitudinal repeat similar to filamentous actin (F‐actin) and MreB filaments that maintain the cell shape of non‐spherical bacteria.

New insights into the mechanisms of cytomotive actin and tubulin filaments.

...

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