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.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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

It was also observed that SCAFs activated dendrite elongation by stimulating a signaling pathway involved in reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton - forces responsible for cell movement and ...

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 ...