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Bacterial Actins? An Evolutionary PerspectiveAccording to the conventional wisdom, the existence of a cytoskeleton in eukaryotes and its absence in prokaryotes constitute a fundamental divide between the two domains of life. An integral part of the dogma is that a cytoskeleton enabled an early eukaryote to feed upon prokaryotes, a consequence of which was the occasional endosymbiosis and the eventual evolution of organelles. Two recent papers present compelling evidence that actin, one of the principal components of a cytoskeleton, has a homolog in Bacteria that behaves in many ways like eukaryotic actin. Sequence comparisons reveml that eukaryotic actin and the bacterial homolog (mreB protein), unlike many other proteins common to eukaryotes and Bacteria, have very different and more highly extended evolutionary histories.
Document ID
20030068246
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Doolittle, Russell F.
(California Univ. San Diego, CA, United States)
York, Amanda L.
(California Univ. San Diego, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2003
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-4546
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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