1 Molecular mechanisms of the AAA proteins in plants

Adenosine triphosphatases (ATPases) belonging to the AAA protein family (ATPases associated with several cellular activities) are involved in a wide range of activities such as proteolysis, protein folding, membrane trafficking, cytoskeleton regulation, organelle biogenesis, transcription control, and microtubule regulation. This family is characterized by the presence of one or several conserved motifs including the Walker A and Walker B required for ATP binding and hydrolysis respectively, and a highly conserved amino acid sequence termed the second region of homology (SRH). AAA proteins are found in eukaryotes, prokaryotes, and archaeabacteria displaying common important functions in all life forms. Structural an