The bacterial universal stress protein: function and regulation
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Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Immunofluorescence Analysis of Stress Granule Formation After Bacterial Challenge of Mammalian Cells
Published on: July 3, 2017
Kristian Kvint1, Laurence Nachin, Alfredo Diez
1Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Göteborg University, Medicinaregatan 9C, 413 90 Göteborg, Sweden.
Abstract:
The universal stress protein A (UspA) superfamily encompasses an ancient and conserved group of proteins that are found in bacteria, Archea, fungi, flies and plants. The Escherichia coli UspA is produced in response to a large number of different environmental onslaughts and UspA is one of the most abundant proteins in growth-arrested cells. Although insights into the regulation of the E. coli uspA gene have been gained, the exact roles of the Usp proteins and Usp domains remain enigmatic; they appear, in some cases, to be linked to resistance to DNA-damaging agents and to respiratory uncouplers.
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