Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Methods to Classify Cytoplasmic Foci as Mammalian Stress Granules
Published on: May 12, 2017
Molecular architecture of the "stressosome," a signal integration and transduction hub
Jon Marles-Wright1, Tim Grant, Olivier Delumeau
1Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE2 4HH, UK.
Abstract:
A commonly used strategy by microorganisms to survive multiple stresses involves a signal transduction cascade that increases the expression of stress-responsive genes. Stress signals can be integrated by a multiprotein signaling hub that responds to various signals to effect a single outcome. We obtained a medium-resolution cryo-electron microscopy reconstruction of the 1.8-megadalton "stressosome" from Bacillus subtilis. Fitting known crystal structures of components into this reconstruction gave a pseudoatomic structure, which had a virus capsid-like core with sensory extensions. We suggest that the different sensory extensions respond to different signals, whereas the conserved domains in the core integrate the varied signals. The architecture of the stressosome provides the potential for cooperativity, suggesting that the response could be tuned dependent on the magnitude of chemophysical insult.
Related Concept Videos
Assembly of Signaling Complexes
Interaction domains in cell signaling
Interaction domains recognize exposed features of their binding partners containing post-translationally modified sequences,...
Other Stress Responses in Bacteria
Protein Translocation Machinery on the ER Membrane
Sec61 protein conducting channel
In eukaryotes, the translocon complex comprises a core heterotrimeric translocator channel called the Sec61 complex. This channel includes three transmembrane proteins, Sec61α, Sec61β, and Sec61γ, and is the largest subunit of the translocon complex.
Stress Response System
Alarm stage
In the alarm stage, the body's initial...
Signal Transduction: Overview
Typically, signal transduction involves three...
Intracellular Signaling Cascades
