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Prokaryotic Cytoskeletons

Filamentous Protein Polymers Active in the Cytoplasm of Bacterial and Archaeal Cells

  • Is the first book to bring together a wide range of expert opinion in this new highly-active field
  • Focusses on supramolecular structure and function: filaments working as intracellular machines
  • Provides high quality color figures to support the text

Part of the book series: Subcellular Biochemistry (SCBI, volume 84)

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Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
  2. E. coli Cell Cycle Machinery

    • Joe Lutkenhaus, Shishen Du
    Pages 27-65
  3. Cell Cycle Machinery in Bacillus subtilis

    • Jeff Errington, Ling Juan Wu
    Pages 67-101Open Access
  4. FtsZ Constriction Force – Curved Protofilaments Bending Membranes

    • Harold P. Erickson, Masaki Osawa
    Pages 139-160
  5. FtsZ-ring Architecture and Its Control by MinCD

    • Piotr Szwedziak, Debnath Ghosal
    Pages 213-244
  6. Bacterial Actins

    • Thierry Izoré, Fusinita van den Ent
    Pages 245-266
  7. Tubulin-Like Proteins in Prokaryotic DNA Positioning

    • Gero Fink, Christopher H. S. Aylett
    Pages 323-356
  8. The Structure, Function and Roles of the Archaeal ESCRT Apparatus

    • Rachel Y. Samson, Megan J. Dobro, Grant J. Jensen, Stephen D. Bell
    Pages 357-377
  9. Archaeal Actin-Family Filament Systems

    • Ann-Christin Lindås, Karin Valegård, Thijs J. G. Ettema
    Pages 379-392
  10. The Tubulin Superfamily in Archaea

    • Christopher H. S. Aylett, Iain G. Duggin
    Pages 393-417
  11. Reconstitution of Protein Dynamics Involved in Bacterial Cell Division

    • Martin Loose, Katja Zieske, Petra Schwille
    Pages 419-444
  12. Erratum to: Prokaryotic Cytoskeletons

    • Jan Löwe, Linda A. Amos
    Pages E1-E1
  13. Back Matter

    Pages 445-450

About this book

This book describes the structures and functions of active protein filaments, found in bacteria and archaea, and now known to perform crucial roles in cell division and intra-cellular motility, as well as being essential for controlling cell shape and growth. These roles are possible because the cytoskeletal and cytomotive filaments provide long range order from small subunits. Studies of these filaments are therefore of central importance to understanding prokaryotic cell biology. The wide variation in subunit and polymer structure and its relationship with the range of functions also provide important insights into cell evolution, including the emergence of eukaryotic cells.

Individual chapters, written by leading researchers, review the great advances made in the past 20-25 years, and still ongoing, to discover the architectures, dynamics and roles of filaments found in relevant model organisms. Others describe one of the families of dynamic filaments found in many species. The most common types of filament are deeply related to eukaryotic cytoskeletal proteins, notably actin and tubulin that polymerise and depolymerise under the control of nucleotide hydrolysis. Related systems are found to perform a variety of roles, depending on the organisms. Surprisingly, prokaryotes all lack the molecular motors associated with eukaryotic F-actin and microtubules. Archaea, but not bacteria, also have active filaments related to the eukaryotic ESCRT system. Non-dynamic fibres, including intermediate filament-like structures, are known to occur in some bacteria.. Details of known filament structures are discussed and related to what has been established about their molecular mechanisms, including current controversies. The final chapter covers the use of some of these dynamic filaments in Systems Biology research. The level of information in all chapters is suitable both for active researchers and for advanced students in courses involving bacterial or archaeal physiology, molecular microbiology, structural cell biology, molecular motility or evolution.

Chapter 3 of this book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Structural Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Jan Löwe, Linda A. Amos

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Prokaryotic Cytoskeletons

  • Book Subtitle: Filamentous Protein Polymers Active in the Cytoplasm of Bacterial and Archaeal Cells

  • Editors: Jan Löwe, Linda A. Amos

  • Series Title: Subcellular Biochemistry

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53047-5

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG 2017

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-53045-1Published: 30 May 2017

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-85048-1Published: 12 August 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-53047-5Published: 11 May 2017

  • Series ISSN: 0306-0225

  • Series E-ISSN: 2542-8810

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIII, 450

  • Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations, 69 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Protein Science, Cytogenetics, Bacteriology

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access