1932

Abstract

Almost all bacteria and many archaea contain genes whose expression inhibits cell growth and may lead to cell death when overproduced, reminiscent of apoptotic genes in higher systems. The cellular targets of these toxins are quite diverse and include DNA replication, mRNA stability, protein synthesis, cell-wall biosynthesis, and ATP synthesis. These toxins are co-expressed and neutralized with their cognate antitoxins from a TA (toxin-antitoxin) operon in normally growing cells. Antitoxins are more labile than toxins and are readily degraded under stress conditions, allowing the toxins to exert their toxic effect. Presence of at least 33 TA systems in and more than 60 TA systems in suggests that the TA systems are involved not only in normal bacterial physiology but also in pathogenicity of bacteria. The elucidation of their cellular function and regulation is thus crucial for our understanding of bacterial physiology under various stress conditions.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-genet-110410-132412
2011-12-15
2024-03-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-genet-110410-132412
Loading
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-genet-110410-132412
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error