Protein phosphorylation in prokaryotes

Phosphorylation is one of the covalent modifications that proteins are liable to undergo in a posttranslational process. The observations summarized in this review conclusively demonstrate that, contrary to an early concept, protein phosphorylation is not confined to eukaryotes but occurs in prokaryotes as well. This modification therefore seems to be of ancient evolutionary origin, like a number of other posttranslational modifications such as methylation, acetylation, or ADP ribosylation, which are found in almost all forms of life.