Back to the Roots: Deep View into the Evolutionary History of ADP-Ribosylation Opened by the DNA-Targeting Toxin-Antitoxin Module DarTG  Alexander Harms, Kenn Gerdes  Molecular Cell  Volume 64, Issue 6, Pages 1020-1021 (December 2016) DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2016.11.038 Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 Tightly Controlled ADP-Ribosylation of Single-Stranded DNA by the DarTG Toxin-Antitoxin Module Jankevicius et al. (2016) demonstrate that the DarT toxin ADP-ribosylates single-stranded DNA and thereby abrogates chromosome replication and bacterial growth. The DarG antitoxin reverses these effects through hydrolysis of the ADP-ribosylation and seems to exert an additional layer of control by directly blocking the enzymatic activity of DarT through direct protein-protein interactions. Biological functions of the DarTG toxin-antitoxin module remain elusive, but the authors speculate that it may act in bacterial persistence or in conjunction with restriction-modification systems. Molecular Cell 2016 64, 1020-1021DOI: (10.1016/j.molcel.2016.11.038) Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. Terms and Conditions