Chemosensing and signal transduction in bacteria

Major advances have been made over the past year in understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in membrane receptor function, and in resolving the global organization of intracellular signaling pathways. Crystallographic and biochemical studies are revealing details of transmembrane signaling mechanisms and the phosphorylation reactions of the two-component regulatory systems. In addition, the discovery of new signal transduction pathways and new inputs into known pathways are providing a clearer view of the basic architecture of the signal transduction networks within the bacterial cell.