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Comment
. 2013 Dec 12;52(5):611-2.
doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2013.11.018.

Preventing bacterial suicide: a novel toxin-antitoxin strategy

Monica Markovski  1 , Sue Wickner  2
Affiliations
Comment

Preventing bacterial suicide: a novel toxin-antitoxin strategy

Monica Markovski et al. Mol Cell. .

Abstract

In this issue of Molecular Cell, Aarke et al. (2013) identify a toxin-antitoxin system in Caulobacter crescentus that acts by a unique mechanism. The toxin, which blocks DNA replication, is constitutively degraded by ClpXP, and this degradation requires the antitoxin, a ClpXP adaptor.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The SocAB system is a new class of toxin-antitoxin modules
(A) Unlike canonical toxin-antitoxin systems, the SocA antitoxin (purple) acts as a proteolytic adaptor for the degradation of SocB toxin (red) by the protease ClpXP (grey). (B) The five types of toxin-antitoxin systems are classified based on the mechanism of action the antitoxin (purple) employs to inactivate toxin (red) activity. AT, antitoxin; T, toxin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

References

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