Histidine and aspartate phosphorylation: two-component systems and the limits of homology

Abstract

Autophosphorylating histidine kinase and response-regulator domains constitute the building blocks of two-component signaling systems. These systems use a unique phosphotransfer chemistry to regulate many aspects of bacterial physiology. Homologous systems are now being found in eukaryotes. Despite their common mechanism of phosphotransfer, the two-component systems display an extensive diversity in the arrangement of their domains, and flexibility in their roles in different signal transduction circuits.