Post details: Type III secretion machines "most remarkable"

12/05/06

Permalinkby 07:53:25 am, Categories: Literature - Articles, 329 words   English (UK)

Type III secretion machines "most remarkable"

The type III secretion system (T3SS) has risen from comparative obscurity to become the focus of attention for many researchers. This is partly because if its potential for medical applications, and partly because it has the distinction of being constructed from a subset of components found in the bacterial flagellum. Some have advanced the view that the T3SS is a link in the gradualist chain leading to the formation of the bacterial flagellum, thereby disproving the claim by Michael Behe that this structure is irreducibly complex. New research is far from confirming the gradualist hypothesis. The “T3SSs are among the most complex protein secretion systems known in bacteria.” In a recent review of what is known of their structure, the authors write: “We have focused on what we believe are the general principles that govern the function of these biological machines.....” Just as the bacterial flagellum is an exquisite nano-machine, so also is the T3SS a striking example of nanotechnology. Whilst it may be possible to interpret T3SS as derived from the more complex flagellum, the route to gradual construction of these structures is as far off as ever.

Protein delivery into eukaryotic cells by type III secretion machines
Jorge E. Galán and Hans Wolf-Watz
Nature 444, 567-573 (30 November 2006) | doi:10.1038/nature05272

Abstract: Bacteria that have sustained long-standing close associations with eukaryotic hosts have evolved specific adaptations to survive and replicate in this environment. Perhaps one of the most remarkable of those adaptations is the type III secretion system (T3SS)—a bacterial organelle that has specifically evolved to deliver bacterial proteins into eukaryotic cells. Although originally identified in a handful of pathogenic bacteria, T3SSs are encoded by a large number of bacterial species that are symbiotic or pathogenic for humans, other animals including insects or nematodes, and plants. The study of these systems is leading to unique insights into not only organelle assembly and protein secretion but also mechanisms of symbiosis and pathogenesis.

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