Publications [#113204] of Harold P. Erickson

Papers Published

1. HP Erickson, Atomic structures of tubulin and FtsZ., Trends in cell biology, ENGLAND, vol. 8 no. 4 (April, 1998), pp. 133-7, ISSN 0962-8924
   (last updated on 2009/02/12)

   Abstract:
   The recently published atomic structures of tubulin and FtsZ are a research milestone. The N-terminal GTP-binding domains of tubulin and FtsZ are virtually identical in structure, as expected from the substantial sequence identity. Sequence identity is absent from the C-terminal domains, but they also have virtually identical structures. A surprising finding is that the N-terminal GTP-binding domain is structurally homologous to that of Ras and other G proteins, despite the completely different GTP-binding sequence motifs. This article discusses these findings and the molecular mechanisms that can now be addressed with the atomic structures.

   Keywords:
   Amino Acid Sequence • Animals • Bacterial Proteins • Crystallography, X-Ray • Cytoskeletal Proteins* • GTP-Binding Proteins • Humans • Models, Molecular • Molecular Sequence Data • Protein Structure, Tertiary* • Tubulin • chemistry*