Department of Microbiology & Immunology
University of Illinois
Chicago

GTPase mechanisms work for ras family oncogenes, vesicular transport mechanisms, signal transduction, and translational initiation and elongation in prokaryotes, eukaryotic microbes, plants, and animals. Members of the diverse GTPase group of enzymes share sequence homologies, molecular mechanisms, and structural patterns. Crystal structures (from X-ray analysis), molecular genetics, and biochemical studies merge into a rather unified picture in this global review.

H.R. Bourne, D.A. Sanders, F. McCormick, "The GTPase superfamily: conserved structure and molecular mechanism," Nature, 349, 117-27, 10 January 1991. (University of California, San Francisco; Cetus Corp., Emeryville, Calif.)

How penicillin and related antibiotics work and how bacteria resist their action are still, surprisingly, unsolved questions. Multigene regulation and signal transmission governing cell growth and division are newer factors in this complex picture.

E. Tuomanen, S. Lindquist, S. Sande, M. Galleni, et al., "Coordinate regulation of b-lactamase induction and peptiodoglycan composition...

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