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- Editorial] Bacterial Regulatory Mechanisms for the Control of Cellular Processes: Simple Organisms’ Complex Regulation
- Jin-Won Lee
- J. Microbiol. 2023;61(3):273-276. Published online April 3, 2023
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-023-00036-6
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Abstract
- Bacteria employ a diverse array of cellular regulatory mechanisms to successfully adapt and thrive in ever-changing environments, including but not limited to temperature changes, fluctuations in nutrient availability, the presence or absence of electron acceptors such as oxygen, the availability of metal ions crucial for enzyme activity, and the existence of antibiotics. Bacteria can virtually modulate any step of gene expression from transcr!ptional initiation to posttranslational modification of a protein for the control of cellular processes. Furthermore, one gene regulator often controls another in a complex gene regulatory network. Thus, it is not easy to fully understand the intricacies of bacterial regulatory mechanisms in various environments. In this special issue, while acknowledging the challenge of covering all aspects of bacterial regulatory mechanisms across diverse environments, seven review articles are included to provide insight into the recent progress in understanding such mechanisms from different perspectives: positive regulatory mechanisms by secondary messenger (cAMP receptor protein), two-component signal transduction mechanisms (Rcs and Cpx), diverse regulatory mechanisms by a specific environmental factor in specific bacteria (oxygen availability in Mycobacterium and manganese ion availability in Salmonella), diverse regulatory mechanisms by a specific environmental factor (temperature and antibiotics), and regulatory mechanisms by antibiotics in cell wall synthesis. Bacteria, as ubiquitous organisms that can be found in almost every environment, carry out complex cellular processes that allow them to survive and thrive in a variety of different conditions despite their small size and relative simplicity. One of the key factors that allows bacteria to carry out these complex processes is their ability to regulate gene expression through various mechanisms. Gene expression is a fundamental biological process by which the genetic information encoded in a gene is transcribed into an RNA molecule and subsequently translated into a functional gene product, often a protein. Furthermore, the activity levels of proteins may further be altered by posttranslational modification. Regulation of gene expression refers to the control of the amount and timing of gene expression, and thus it can be divided into transcr!ptional, translational, and posttranslational levels.
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