In: Biology
A. State three functions of the bacterial cytoskeleton.
B. Name and state the function of three organelles that are unique to bacteria. Now name three organelles unique to eukaryotic cells.
C. Describe the special organization of organelles and cytoskeleton that is only found in eukaryotic cells. How does this special organization affect eukaryotic cell physiology?
A) Cytoskeletal elements of bacteria have essential roles in protection, cell division, polarity determination and shape determination.
MreB - MreB is analogous to actin in eukaryotes. Non-spherical bacteria rely on MreB to determine their shape. It mediates the position and activity of enzymes that synthesize peptidoglycan and acts as a rigid filament under the cell membrane to exert pressure outward.
FtsZ - It forms a filamentous ring structure located in the middle of the cell called the Z-ring that constricts during cell division, which is similar to the actin-myosin contractile ring in eukaryotes. FtsZ acts as an organizer protein that is required for cell division.
ParM - ParM is has a structure similar to actin, but behaves functionally like tubulin. ParM forms a system with ParR and parC that is responsible for R1 plasmid separation. The system is analogous to eukaryotic chromosome segregation as ParM acts like eukaryotic tubulin in the mitotic spindle, ParR acts like the kinetochore complex, and parC acts like the centromere of the chromosome.