Ouhammouch Mohamed
Center for Molecular Genetics and Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0634, USA.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2004 Apr;14(2):133-8. doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2004.01.002.
During the past few decades, it has become clear that microorganisms can thrive under the most diverse conditions, including extremes of temperature, pressure, salinity and pH. Most of these extremophilic organisms belong to the third domain of life, that of the Archaea. The organisms of this domain are of particular interest because most informational systems that are associated with archaeal genomes and their expression are reminiscent of those seen in Eucarya, whereas, most of their metabolic aspects are similar to those of Bacteria. A better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of gene expression in Archaea will, therefore, help to integrate the body of knowledge regarding the regulatory mechanisms that underlie gene expression in all three domains of life.
在过去几十年里，很明显微生物能够在极其多样的条件下繁衍生息，包括极端的温度、压力、盐度和pH值。这些极端嗜热生物大多属于生命的第三个域，即古菌域。这个域的生物特别令人感兴趣，因为大多数与古菌基因组及其表达相关的信息系统让人联想到真核生物中的信息系统，而它们的大多数代谢方面则与细菌相似。因此，更好地理解古菌中基因表达的调控机制将有助于整合关于生命所有三个域中基因表达基础调控机制的知识体系。
