Pathfinders and trailblazers: a prokaryotic targeting system for transport of folded proteins

The twin-arginine (Tat) protein translocase is a highly unusual protein transport machine that is dedicated to the movement of folded proteins across the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. Proteins are targeted to the Tat pathway by means of N-terminal signal peptides harbouring a distinctive twin-arginine motif. In this minireview, we describe our current knowledge of the Tat system, paying particular attention to the function of the TatA protein and to the often overlooked step of signal peptide cleavage.