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Type VII Secretion System
Type VII secretion systems are bacterial secretion systems first observed in the phyla '' Actinomycetota'' and '' Bacillota''. Bacteria use such systems to transport, or secrete, proteins into the environment. The bacterial genus ''Mycobacterium'' uses type VII secretion systems (T7SS) to secrete proteins across their cell envelope. The first T7SS system discovered was the ESX-1 System. T7SS has been studied as a virulence factor associated with the ESX-1 system in ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis''. These secretion systems are often found in gram-positive bacteria. Type VII secretion systems are necessary in ''Mycobacterium'' because of their impermeable membrane. The RD1 locus or Gene for Type VII secretion can create a lytic effect through ESX-1 transport. Structure Cryogenic electron microscopy was used to determine that a complex of two identical subunits made from four proteins forms the structure of the type VII secretion system in Mycobacterium smegmatis. T7SS forms a six ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secretion System
440px Secretion is the movement of material from one point to another, such as a secreted chemical substance from a cell or gland. In contrast, excretion is the removal of certain substances or waste products from a cell or organism. The classical mechanism of cell secretion is via secretory portals at the plasma membrane called porosomes. Porosomes are permanent cup-shaped lipoprotein structures embedded in the cell membrane, where secretory vesicles transiently dock and fuse to release intra-vesicular contents from the cell. Secretion in bacterial species means the transport or translocation of effector molecules for example: proteins, enzymes or toxins (such as cholera toxin in pathogenic bacteria e.g. '' Vibrio cholerae'') from across the interior ( cytoplasm or cytosol) of a bacterial cell to its exterior. Secretion is a very important mechanism in bacterial functioning and operation in their natural surrounding environment for adaptation and survival. In eukaryotic c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dalton (unit)
The dalton or unified atomic mass unit (symbols: Da or u) is a non-SI unit of mass widely used in physics and chemistry. It is defined as of the mass of an unbound neutral atom of carbon-12 in its nuclear and electronic ground state and at rest. The atomic mass constant, denoted ''m''u, is defined identically, giving . This unit is commonly used in physics and chemistry to express the mass of atomic-scale objects, such as atoms, molecules, and elementary particles, both for discrete instances and multiple types of ensemble averages. For example, an atom of helium-4 has a mass of . This is an intrinsic property of the isotope and all helium-4 atoms have the same mass. Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), , has an average mass of approximately . However, there are no acetylsalicylic acid molecules with this mass. The two most common masses of individual acetylsalicylic acid molecules are , having the most common isotopes, and , in which one carbon is carbon-13. The molecular mass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Effector (biology)
In biochemistry, an effector molecule is usually a small molecule that selectively binds to a protein and regulates its biological activity. In this manner, effector molecules act as ligands that can increase or decrease enzyme activity, gene expression, or cell signaling. Effector molecules can also directly regulate the activity of some mRNA molecules (riboswitches). Other examples of effector functions in biochemistry include hormone signaling and immune response. In some cases, specific proteins serve the same role as effector molecules (note: small molecules refers to organic compounds similar in size to amino acids or RNA strands. Most effector molecules are therefor much smaller than individual proteins, which consist of many amino acids). One example of this is in cellular signal transduction cascades. The term ''effector'' is used in other fields of biology. For instance, the effector end of a neuron is the terminus where an axon makes contact with the muscle or o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firmicutes
The Bacillota (synonym Firmicutes) are a phylum of bacteria, most of which have gram-positive cell wall structure. The renaming of phyla such as Firmicutes in 2021 remains controversial among microbiologists, many of whom continue to use the earlier names of long standing in the literature. The name "Firmicutes" was derived from the Latin words for "tough skin," referring to the thick cell wall typical of bacteria in this phylum. Scientists once classified the Firmicutes to include all gram-positive bacteria, but have recently defined them to be of a core group of related forms called the low- G+C group, in contrast to the Actinomycetota. They have round cells, called cocci (singular coccus), or rod-like forms (bacillus). A few Firmicutes, such as ''Megasphaera'', ''Pectinatus'', ''Selenomonas'' and ''Zymophilus'', have a porous pseudo-outer membrane that causes them to stain gram-negative. Many Bacillota (Firmicutes) produce endospores, which are resistant to desiccation and can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaperone (protein)
In molecular biology, molecular chaperones are proteins that assist the conformational folding or unfolding of large proteins or macromolecular protein complexes. There are a number of classes of molecular chaperones, all of which function to assist large proteins in proper protein folding during or after synthesis, and after partial denaturation. Chaperones are also involved in the translocation of proteins for proteolysis. The first molecular chaperones discovered were a type of assembly chaperones which assist in the assembly of nucleosomes from folded histones and DNA. One major function of molecular chaperones is to prevent the aggregation of misfolded proteins, thus many chaperone proteins are classified as heat shock proteins, as the tendency for protein aggregation is increased by heat stress. The majority of molecular chaperones do not convey any steric information for protein folding, and instead assist in protein folding by binding to and stabilizing folding interme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fimbrial Usher Protein
The fimbrial usher protein is involved in biogenesis of the pilus in Gram-negative bacteria Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall .... The biogenesis of some fimbriae (or pili) requires a two-component assembly and transport system which is composed of a periplasmic chaperone and a pore-forming outer membrane protein which has been termed a molecular 'usher'; this is the chaperone-usher pathway. The usher protein has a molecular weight ranging from 86 to 100 kDa and is composed of a membrane-spanning 24-stranded beta barrel domain, reminiscent of porins, and of four periplasmic soluble domains: an N-terminal one of about 120 residues (NTD), a 'middle' domain of about 80 residues located as a soluble insertion within the beta barrel region of the sequence (plug domain) an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biofilm
A biofilm comprises any syntrophic consortium of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often also to a surface. These adherent cells become embedded within a slimy extracellular matrix that is composed of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs). The cells within the biofilm produce the EPS components, which are typically a polymeric conglomeration of extracellular polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and DNA. Because they have three-dimensional structure and represent a community lifestyle for microorganisms, they have been metaphorically described as "cities for microbes". Biofilms may form on living or non-living surfaces and can be prevalent in natural, industrial, and hospital settings. They may constitute a microbiome or be a portion of it. The microbial cells growing in a biofilm are physiologically distinct from planktonic cells of the same organism, which, by contrast, are single cells that may float or swim in a liquid medium. Biofilms can form ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaperone-usher Fimbriae
Chaperone-usher fimbriae (CU) are linear, unbranching, outer-membrane pili secreted by gram-negative bacteria through the chaperone-usher system rather than through type IV secretion or extracellular nucleation systems. These fimbriae are built up out of modular pilus subunits, which are transported into the periplasm in a Sec dependent manner. Chaperone-usher secreted fimbriae are important pathogenicity factors facilitating host colonisation, localisation and biofilm formation in clinically important species such as uropathogenic ''Escherichia coli'' and ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa''. Structure Overall All chaperone/usher systems are found within gene clusters consisting of at least an usher, a chaperone and one or more fimbriae subunits. Overall the system includes periplasmic chaperones, periplasmic and extracellular pilus subunits, dimeric usher outer membrane pore and associated Sec machinery. The Pilus subunits polymerise via a non-covalent interaction to form the ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dimer (chemistry)
A dimer () ('' di-'', "two" + ''-mer'', "parts") is an oligomer consisting of two monomers joined by bonds that can be either strong or weak, covalent or intermolecular. Dimers also have significant implications in polymer chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and biochemistry. The term ''homodimer'' is used when the two molecules are identical (e.g. A–A) and ''heterodimer'' when they are not (e.g. A–B). The reverse of dimerization is often called dissociation. When two oppositely charged ions associate into dimers, they are referred to as ''Bjerrum pairs'', after Niels Bjerrum. Noncovalent dimers Anhydrous carboxylic acids form dimers by hydrogen bonding of the acidic hydrogen and the carbonyl oxygen. For example, acetic acid forms a dimer in the gas phase, where the monomer units are held together by hydrogen bonds. Under special conditions, most OH-containing molecules form dimers, e.g. the water dimer. Excimers and exciplexes are excited structures with a short lifetime. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryogenic Electron Microscopy
Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a cryomicroscopy technique applied on samples cooled to cryogenic temperatures. For biological specimens, the structure is preserved by embedding in an environment of vitreous ice. An aqueous sample solution is applied to a grid-mesh and plunge-frozen in liquid ethane or a mixture of liquid ethane and propane. While development of the technique began in the 1970s, recent advances in detector technology and software algorithms have allowed for the determination of biomolecular structures at near-atomic resolution. This has attracted wide attention to the approach as an alternative to X-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy for macromolecular structure determination without the need for crystallization. In 2017, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson "for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution." ''Nature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Actinomycetota
The ''Actinomycetota'' (or ''Actinobacteria'') are a phylum of all gram-positive bacteria. They can be terrestrial or aquatic. They are of great economic importance to humans because agriculture and forests depend on their contributions to soil systems. In soil they help to decompose the organic matter of dead organisms so the molecules can be taken up anew by plants. While this role is also played by fungi, ''Actinomycetota'' are much smaller and likely do not occupy the same ecological niche. In this role the colonies often grow extensive mycelia, like a fungus would, and the name of an important order of the phylum, '' Actinomycetales'' (the actinomycetes), reflects that they were long believed to be fungi. Some soil actinomycetota (such as ''Frankia'') live symbiotically with the plants whose roots pervade the soil, fixing nitrogen for the plants in exchange for access to some of the plant's saccharides. Other species, such as many members of the genus '' Mycobacterium'', ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity and the molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and noncoding genes. During gene expression, the DNA is first copied into RNA. The RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for a protein that performs a function. The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits. These genes make up different DNA sequences called genotypes. Genotypes along with environmental and developmental factors determine what the phenotypes will be. Most biological traits are under the influence of polygenes (many different genes) as well as gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
