User:Tgwgraham1/ParABS

ParABS systems ...

ParABS systems are a group of diverse molecular machines involved in plasmid partitioning and chromosome segregation in bacteria. A ParABS system consists of two protein-coding genes, parA and parB, which are typically found together in a single operon. The ParB protein binds specifically to cis-acting parS sites located on the plasmid or chromosome. In addition ParB associates with nonspecific DNA near specific parS sites, though it remains poorly understood how this "spreading" occurs. ParA is a variant Walker ATPase that interacts with ParB and either specificially or nonspecifically with DNA. In most ParABS systems, ParA is thought to serve as a molecular motor that drives segregation, perhaps through a so-called "burnt-bridge" Brownian ratchet mechanism.