2010/08/25 by Dorothée Murat, Meghan E. Byrne, Arash Komeili · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Protist diversity and phylogeny #Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies #Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a000422
openalex publication_date 2010/08/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Mounting evidence in recent years has challenged the dogma that prokaryotes are simple and undefined cells devoid of an organized subcellular architecture. In fact, proteins once thought to be the purely eukaryotic inventions, including relatives of actin and tubulin control prokaryotic cell shape, DNA segregation, and cytokinesis. Similarly, compartmentalization, commonly noted as a distinguishing feature of eukaryotic cells, is also prevalent in the prokaryotic world in the form of protein-bounded and lipid-bounded organelles. In this article we highlight some of these prokaryotic organelles and discuss the current knowledge on their ultrastructure and the molecular mechanisms of their biogenesis and maintenance.