Distribution, formation and regulation of gas vesicles

Nat Rev Microbiol. 2012 Oct;10(10):705-15. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro2834. Epub 2012 Sep 3.

Abstract

A range of bacteria and archaea produce intracellular gas-filled proteinaceous structures that function as flotation devices in order to maintain a suitable depth in the aqueous environment. The wall of these gas vesicles is freely permeable to gas molecules and is composed of a small hydrophobic protein, GvpA, which forms a single-layer wall. In addition, several minor structural, accessory or regulatory proteins are required for gas vesicle formation. In different organisms, 8-14 genes encoding gas vesicle proteins have been identified, and their expression has been shown to be regulated by environmental factors. In this Review, I describe the basic properties of gas vesicles, the genes that encode them and how their production is regulated. I also discuss the function of these vesicles and the initial attempts to exploit them for biotechnological purposes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cytoplasmic Vesicles / metabolism*
  • Halobacterium / genetics
  • Halobacterium / metabolism*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Multigene Family
  • Proteins / genetics
  • Proteins / metabolism*
  • Sequence Alignment

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Proteins
  • gas vesicle protein