Signal transduction by reversible protein phosphorylation in the third domain of life

Reversible protein phosphorylation is the main mechanism of signal transduction that enables cells to rapidly respond to environmental changes by controlling the functional properties of proteins in response to external stimuli. Although protein phosphorylation has been demonstrated in the third domain of life, the Archaea, already in the 80’s the knowledge in Archaea is still in its infancy. The current understanding of reversible protein phosphorylation in Archaea in regard to identified phospho-proteins, biochemical characterization of protein kinases and protein phosphatases as well as target enzymes and first insights into archaeal signal transduction will be presented