Genomic studies have revealed the presence of Ser/Thr kinases and phosphatases in many
bacterial species, although their physiological roles have largely been unclear. Here we …

Escherichia coli contains a large number of suicide or toxin genes, whose expression leads
to cell growth arrest and eventual cell death. One such toxin, MazF, is an ACA‐specific …

In prokaryotes, the toxin-antitoxin systems are thought to play important roles in growth
regulation under stress conditions. In the E. coli MazE-MazF system, MazF toxin functions as …

Genetic programs underlying multicellular morphogenesis and cellular differentiation are
most often associated with eukaryotic organisms, but examples also exist in bacteria such as …

Staphylococcus aureus is a common human cutaneous and nasal commensal and a major
life-threatening pathogen. Adaptation to the different environments encountered inside and …

Studies of endospore formation by Bacillus subtilis and fruiting body development of
Myxococcus xanthus have revealed key features of regulatory networks that govern …

Reversible phosphorylation is a key mechanism that regulates many cellular processes in
prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In prokaryotes, signal transduction includes two-component …

Signal transduction in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is mediated primarily by the Ser/Thr
protein kinases and the two-component systems. The Ser/Thr kinase PknH has been shown …

Myxobacteria are renowned for the ability to sporulate within fruiting bodies whose shapes
are species-specific. The capacity to build those multicellular structures arises from the …

The bacterium Myxococcus xanthus undergoes multicellular development when starved.
Thousands of cells build mounds in which some differentiate into spores. This remarkable …