原核生物微管蛋白家族研究进展

Progress in prokaryotic tubulin homologues

自从1992年确定细菌分裂的关键蛋白Fts Z属于微管蛋白家族以来,越来越多的细菌细胞骨架蛋白被发现。原核生物中的微管同源蛋白主要有Fts Z、Cet Z、Tub Z和Btub A/B等。它们与微管蛋白具有相似的三级结构,可以结合鸟嘌呤-5′-三磷酸(Guanosine triphosphate,GTP)自聚合成不同的线状原丝纤维结构:单线状原丝纤维、双螺旋纤维结构或聚集成束状结构,在细菌细胞分裂、维持细胞形态、质粒分离等诸多重要生理功能中起着重要作用。

The first bacterial cytoskeletal protein Fts Z, a bacterial tubulin homologue, was found in 1992. After these 25 years of research, more bacterial cytoskeletal proteins were identified. The prokaryotic tubulin homologues include Fts Z, Cet Z, Tub Z and Btub A/B. X-ray crystal structures have confirmed that they have similar structures. In the presence of GTP, they assemble into different polymers, such as single filaments, double helix filaments or bundles. These filaments conduct many different important functions including cell division, controlling cell shape and plasmid partition.