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The mechanism of bacterial asymmetric cell division
Author(s) -
Way Jeffrey C.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.950180205
Subject(s) - asymmetric cell division , cell division , microbiology and biotechnology , transcription factor , cell , biology , cell fate determination , mechanism (biology) , genetics , gene , philosophy , epistemology
Abstract Asymmetric cell division generates two cells that contain different regulatory proteins and express different fates. In an example of asymmetric cell division from B. subtilis , a site on the membrane of the dividing cell is chosen to establish the initial asymmetry. Recent results (1,2) show that a key regulatory protein, SpollE, is localized to one side of a sporulating B. subtilis cell, and subsequently functions in an asymmetric manner. SpollE is a phosphatase at the beginning of a regulatory cascade that leads to activation of a cell fate‐determining transcription factor in only one daughter cell.