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Prokaryotic Toxin-Antitoxins pp 69–92Cite as

Type II Toxin-Antitoxins Loci: The relBE Family

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Abstract

relBE of Escherichia coli K-12 is a paradigm TA locus. Here, I describe the discovery of relBE and review the genetic, physiological, biochemical and structural analyses that have led to important insights into TA biology. Five relBE homologues of K-12 are also described while the 6th (mqsRA) is treated in a separate Chapter. Finally, a discussion of the possible biological functions of relBE and other type II TA loci sets the stage for future work on prokaryotic type II TA loci.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust. I thank members of the Gerdes group and of the Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology for friendly and stimulating discussions.

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  1. Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4AX, UK

    Kenn Gerdes

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  1. Inst. for Cell and Molecular Bioscience, Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Newcastle University, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4AX, United Kingdom

    Kenn Gerdes

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Gerdes, K. (2013). Type II Toxin-Antitoxins Loci: The relBE Family. In: Gerdes, K. (eds) Prokaryotic Toxin-Antitoxins. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33253-1_5

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