Membrane Exporters of Fluoride Ion

Abstract

Microorganisms contend with numerous and unusual chemical threats and have evolved a catalog of resistance mechanisms in response. One particularly ancient, pernicious threat is posed by fluoride ion (F − ), a common xenobiotic in natural environments that causes broad-spectrum harm to metabolic pathways. This review focuses on advances in the last ten years toward understanding the microbial response to cytoplasmic accumulation of F − , with a special emphasis on the structure and mechanisms of the proteins that microbes use to export fluoride: the CLC F family of F − /H + antiporters and the Fluc/FEX family of F − channels.

Topics & Concepts