Dynamic and clustering model of bacterial chemotaxis receptors: structural basis for signaling and high sensitivity.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial chemotaxis receptors can detect a small concentration gradient of attractants and repellents in the environment over a wide range of background concentration. The clustering of these receptors to form patches observed in vivo and in vitro has been suspected as a reason for the high sensitivity, and such wide dynamic range is thought to be due to the resetting of the receptor sensitivity threshold by methylation/demethylation of the receptors. However, the mechanisms by which such high sensitivity is achieved and how the methylation/demethylation resets the sensitivity are not well understood. A molecular modeling of an intact bacterial chemotaxis receptor based on the crystal structures of a cytoplasmic domain and a periplasmic domain suggests an interesting clustering of three d

SUBMITTER: Kim SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC129317 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature