Moving proteins

How bacteria keep proteins moving

Bacteria contain large numbers of negatively-charged proteins to avoid the electrostatic interactions with ribosomes that would dramatically reduce protein diffusion.

Fanconi proteins get histones moving.

FANCD2 is a central player in the DNA damage response, particularly in the repair of spontaneous and chemotherapy-induced DNA interstrand crosslinks. New work by Sato et al (2012a) in The EMBO Journal reveals an unexpected novel function of the FANCD2 protein as a histone chaperone, which appears to be essential for this DNA repair role. Mutation in FANCD2 or 1 of the 14 other FANC genes causes...

Lipid Transfer Proteins: Moving Molecules?

Moving proteins from the cytosol into mitochondria.

Mitochondria of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contain at least 750 different proteins, which perform diverse roles. Most of these proteins (approx. 99%) are translated on cytosolic ribosomes, and their import into mitochondria is essential for mitochondrial function. Proteinaceous machineries of great complexity, the so-called translocases, in the mitochondrial membranes mediate the import...

The twin-arginine transport system: moving folded proteins across membranes.

The Tat (twin-arginine transport) pathway is a protein-targeting system dedicated to the transmembrane translocation of fully folded proteins. This system is highly prevalent in the cytoplasmic membranes of bacteria and archaea, and is also found in the thylakoid membranes of plant chloroplasts and possibly also in the inner membrane of plant mitochondria. Proteins are targeted to a membrane-em...