Actin is a major component of the cytoskeleton in yeast, plant and animal cells, but when did it evolve? The discovery of a bacterial protein that forms actin-like filaments suggests an answer.

Bacterial toxins modifying the actin cytoskeleton essentially act at two levels of the actin-regulation network, actin monomers and Rho GTPases, probably because they represent the most critical ...

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 ...

Listeria gets its host to build it an actin tail. Some intracellular bacteria use the host cell’s actin supplies to build their own transport system. The foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes ...

The study results showed that intracellular bacteria act to reorganize the actin cytoskeleton in circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and this promotes CTC survival by enhancing resistance to ...

But research reported in the March 23 Cell knocks out one plank of this standard profile–bacteria, too, have a protein skeleton, or cytoskeleton. A fluorescent tag for a specific bacterial ...

There, it unfolds its deadly effect by disturbing the regulation of the cell's cytoskeleton, which consists of a network of polymerized actin (F-actin) filaments involved in many essential ...

In 2015, researchers examining deep-sea sediments near the underwater volcano Loki discovered gene fragments indicating a new ...

Pulling apart the cytoskeleton Date: November 23, 2015 Source: ASBMB Today Summary: Maintaining the shape of the cell, creating proper internal structure, guiding organelles and pulling ...

More information: "A prophage-encoded actin-like protein required for efficient viral DNA replication in bacteria." Nucl. Acids Res . first published online April 27, 2015 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkv374 ...

Bacteria that cause diseases, so-called pathogens, develop various strategies to exploit human cells as hosts to their own advantage. A team of biologists from Heinrich Heine University ...

The bacteria then enter the new cell and begin the cycle anew. Essentially Listeria takes over or hijacks the host cell's actin cytoskeleton to move within cells, and to spread from cell to cell." ...