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. 2014 May 8;10(5):e1003614. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003614

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© 2014 Ronny Straube

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.

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Typically, the sensor histidine kinase (HK) is a (dimeric) transmembrane protein which senses extracellular signals directly or through their concentration in the periplasm [3]. In some case, signal-sensing may also occur in the cytosol or in the plasma membrane [43]. The HK exhibits up to three distinct activities: (1) autokinase activity leading to the autophosphorylation of the HK, (2) phosphotransfer to the response regulator (RR) and (3) phosphatase activity towards the phosphorylated form of the RR (). In general, the input signal may affect all three HK activities although autokinase and phosphatase activities appear to be the most common targets of regulation [20], [21], [44], [45]. The phosphorylated form of the response regulator often acts as a transcription factor which activates or represses a particular set of response genes including those of the RR and the HK themselves (autoregulation).

Inline graphic — Typically, the sensor histidine kinase (HK) is a (dimeric) transmembrane protein which senses extracellular signals directly or through their concentration in the periplasm [3]. In some case, signal-sensing may also occur in the cytosol or in the plasma membrane [43]. The HK exhibits up to three distinct activities: (1) autokinase activity leading to the autophosphorylation of the HK, (2) phosphotransfer to the response regulator (RR) and (3) phosphatase activity towards the phosphorylated form of the RR (). In general, the input signal may affect all three HK activities although autokinase and phosphatase activities appear to be the most common targets of regulation [20], [21], [44], [45]. The phosphorylated form of the response regulator often acts as a transcription factor which activates or represses a particular set of response genes including those of the RR and the HK themselves (autoregulation).