| Theme | Topics in calcium and phosphate transport | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | A molecular fossil, polyphosphate, comes to life | |
| Publish Date | 2002/10 | |
| Author | Akio Kuroda | Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Hiroshima University |
| [ Summary ] | Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is a linear polymer composed of many hundreds of orthophosphate residues, linked by high-energy phosphoanhydride bonds. PolyP is found in every living thing. We found that polyP accumulated in response to amino acid starvation in Escherichia coli. PolyP formed a complex with the Lon protease and stimulated ribosomal protein degradation by the protease, thereby supplying the amino acids that are essential for survival and adaptation to amino acid starvation. | |