This entry represents a bacterial equivalent to Intermediate Filament proteins, named crescentin, whose cytoskeletal function is required for the vibrioid and helical shapes of Caulobacter crescentus [1]. Without crescentin, the cells adopt a straight-rod morphology. Crescentin has characteristic features of IF proteins including the ability to assemble into filaments in vitro without energy or cofactor requirements. In vivo, crescentin forms a helical structure that colocalizes with the inner cell curvatures beneath the cytoplasmic membrane [1].

1: The bacterial cytoskeleton: an intermediate filament-like function in cell shape. Ausmees N, Kuhn JR, Jacobs-Wagner C; Cell. 2003;115:705-713. PMID:14675535

2: Polyphyly of nuclear lamin genes indicates an early eukaryotic origin of the metazoan-type intermediate filament proteins. Kollmar M; Sci Rep. 2015;5:10652. PMID:26024016

3: The domain organization of the bacterial intermediate filament-like protein crescentin is important for assembly and function. Cabeen MT, Herrmann H, Jacobs-Wagner C; Cytoskeleton (Hoboken). 2011;68:205-219. PMID:21360832