The GTPase superfamily: a conserved switch for diverse cell functions |
| |
Authors: | H R Bourne D A Sanders F McCormick |
| |
Affiliation: | Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco 94143. |
| |
Abstract: | Proteins that bind and hydrolyse GTP are being discovered at a rapidly increasing rate. Each of these many GTPases acts as a molecular switch whose 'on' and 'off' states are triggered by binding and hydrolysis of GTP. Conserved structure and mechanism in myriad versions of the switch--in bacteria, yeast, flies and vertebrates--suggest that all derive from a single primordial protein, repeatedly modified in the course of evolution to perform a dazzling variety of functions. |
| |
Keywords: | |
|
|