ABSTRACT
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and Institute of Cancer Research, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032
*Corresponding author
1. Introduction 2. Genetic Analysis of Chaperone Function: The Case of dnaK 2.1. dnaK, dnaJ, and grpE Mutations Affect Gene Expression 2.2. E. coli Homologs of DnaK and DnaJ 2.3. Dominant dnaK Mutants and the Requirement for grpE 3. Genetic Evidence for the Roles of Chaperones in E. coli Metabolism 3.1. Protein Folding 3.2. Ribosomes and RNA Metabolism 3.3. Protein Export 3.4. Proteolysis 3.5. DNA Replication 3.6. Cell Division 3.7. Acquired Stress Tolerance and Survival during Starvation 4. The Orphaned Chaperones of E. coli: Homologs in Search of Function 4.1. HtpG (Hsp90) 4.2. IbpA and IbpB (Small Hsps) 5. Chaperones and Adaptation: Comparing Genomes 6. Acknowledgments 7. References
1. INTRODUCTION
As the key regulated modulators of protein conformation in the cell, chaperones are likely to be involved in every aspect of cellular metabolism. A combination of genetic and biochemical analyses of chaperone function in E. coli has suggested possible roles for chaperones in a diverse range of cellular processes. Some of these roles are now fairly well understood on a mechanistic level, while others are still poorly explained.
