Recent Advancements in Toxin and Antitoxin Systems Involved in Bacterial Programmed Cell Death

Programmed cell death (PCD) systems have been extensively studied for their significant role in a variety of biological processes in eukaryotic organisms. Recently, more and more researches have revealed the existence of similar systems employed by bacteria in response to various environmental stres...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ming-xi Hu, Xiao Zhang, Er-li Li, Yong-Jun Feng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2010-01-01
Series:International Journal of Microbiology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/781430
Description
Summary:Programmed cell death (PCD) systems have been extensively studied for their significant role in a variety of biological processes in eukaryotic organisms. Recently, more and more researches have revealed the existence of similar systems employed by bacteria in response to various environmental stresses. This paper summarized the recent researching advancements in toxin/antitoxin systems located on plasmids or chromosomes and their regulatory roles in bacterial PCD. The most studied yet disputed mazEF system was discussed in depth, and possible roles and status of such a special bacterial death and TA systems were also reviewed from the ecological and evolutionary perspectives.
ISSN:1687-918X
1687-9198