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Histidine phosphorylation and phosphoryl group transfer in bacterial chemotaxis

Abstract

A cascade of protein phosphorylation, initiated by autophosphorylation of the CheA protein, may be important in the signal transduction pathway of bacterial chemotaxis. A proteolytic fragment of CheA cannot autophosphorylate, but can still transfer phosphate to proteins that generate excitation and adaptation signals. The site of CheA phosphorylation is His 48; mutants altered at this position are non-chemotactic. Similar mechanisms of transient protein phosphorylation and phosphoryl group transfer seem to be involved in processing sensory data and in activating specific gene expression.

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Hess, J., Bourret, R. & Simon, M. Histidine phosphorylation and phosphoryl group transfer in bacterial chemotaxis. Nature 336, 139–143 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/336139a0

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