Discovery of the Extracytoplasmic Function σ Factors

Overview

Journal Mol Microbiol

Specialties Microbiology
Molecular Biology

Date 2019 May 23

PMID 31115926

Citations 12

Authors

Michael A Lonetto

Timothy J Donohue

Carol A Gross

Mark J Buttner

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This special issue of Molecular Microbiology marks the 25 anniversary of the discovery of the extracytoplasmic function (ECF) σ factors, proteins that subsequently emerged as the largest group of alternative σ factors and one of the three major pillars of signal transduction in bacteria, alongside one- and two-component systems. A single bacterial genome can encode > 100 ECF σ factors, and combined with their cognate anti-σ factors, they represent a modular design that primarily functions in transmembrane signal transduction. Here, we first describe the immediate events that led to the 1994 publication in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences USA, and then set them in the broader context of key events in the history of σ biology research.

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