Lesson plan

Parm

ParM is a prokaryotic actin homologue which provides the force to drive copies of the R1 plasmid to opposite ends of rod shaped bacteria before cytokinesis. ParM is a monomer that is encoded in the DNA of the R1 plasmid and manufactured by the host cell's ribosomes. In the cytoplasm it spontaneously polymerizes forming short strands that either bind to ParR or hydrolyze. ParR stabilizes ParM and prevents it from hydrolyzing. Once bound by ParR at both ends, monomer units continue to attach to the ends of the ParM and the resulting reaction pushes R1 plasmids to opposite ends of the cell. ParMs from different bacterial plasmids can form astonishingly diverse helical structures comprising two or four strands to maintain faithful plasmid inheritance.

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Article summary

ParM is a prokaryotic actin homologue which provides the force to drive copies of the R1 plasmid to opposite ends of rod shaped bacteria before cytokinesis. ParM is a monomer that is encoded in the DNA of the R1 plasmid and manufactured by the host cell's ribosomes. In the cytoplasm it spontaneously polymerizes forming short strands that either bind to ParR or hydrolyze. ParR stabilizes ParM and prevents it from hydrolyzing. Once bound by ParR at both ends, monomer units continue to attach to the ends of the ParM and the resulting reaction pushes R1 plasmids to opposite ends of the cell. ParMs from different bacterial plasmids can form astonishingly diverse helical structures comprising two or four strands to maintain faithful plasmid inheritance.

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.