DNA分离机制被重新利用为控制细胞形状的细胞骨架系统

Benjamin L. Springstein*, Manjunath G. Javoor†, Daniela Megrian†, Roman Hajdu, Dustin M. Hanke, Bettina Zens, Gregor L. Weiss, Florian K. M. Schur, Martin Loose* INTRODUCTION: Cytoskeletal systems provide internal protein scaffolds that give cells their shape and organize their contents. In bacteria, one such system, the plasmid-encoded ParMR module, forms actin-like filaments that push low-copy number plasmids to opposite sides of a dividing cell, ensuring that each daughter cell inherits equal DNA. Multicellular cyanobacteria such as the model cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 contain an unusual, chromosome-encoded ParMR system with a function that has remained unclear, raising the possibility that this protein machinery has been evolutionarily repurposed for new cellular functions. …