Microbial protein-tyrosine kinases

J Biol Chem. 2014 Apr 4;289(14):9463-72. doi: 10.1074/jbc.R113.520015. Epub 2014 Feb 19.

Abstract

Microbial ester kinases identified in the past 3 decades came as a surprise, as protein phosphorylation on Ser, Thr, and Tyr amino acids was thought to be unique to eukaryotes. Current analysis of available microbial genomes reveals that "eukaryote-like" protein kinases are prevalent in prokaryotes and can converge in the same signaling pathway with the classical microbial "two-component" systems. Most microbial tyrosine kinases lack the "eukaryotic" Hanks domain signature and are designated tyrosine kinases based upon their biochemical activity. These include the tyrosine kinases termed bacterial tyrosine kinases (BY-kinases), which are responsible for the majority of known bacterial tyrosine phosphorylation events. Although termed generally as bacterial tyrosine kinases, BY-kinases can be considered as one family belonging to the superfamily of prokaryotic protein-tyrosine kinases in bacteria. Other members of this superfamily include atypical "odd" tyrosine kinases with diverse mechanisms of protein phosphorylation and the "eukaryote-like" Hanks-type tyrosine kinases. Here, we discuss the distribution, phylogeny, and function of the various prokaryotic protein-tyrosine kinases, focusing on the recently discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis PtkA and its relationship with other members of this diverse family of proteins.

Keywords: BY-kinases; Bacterial Protein Kinases; Bacterial Signal Transduction; Mycobacterium tuberculosis PtkA; Protein-tyrosine Kinase (Tyrosine Kinase); Signal Transduction; Signaling; Tyr Kinase.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / enzymology
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / genetics*
  • Phylogeny*
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / genetics*
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / metabolism

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases