Two-in-one: bifunctional regulators synchronizing developmental events in bacteria

Developmental events are executed with delicate precision and are strictly in tune with one another. Whereas synchronization is generally attained at the transcriptional level via DNA-binding proteins that regulate multiple genetic modules, numerous recent studies using bacterial model systems reveal that bifunctional proteins are often appropriated as molecular couplers that act at the post-translational level. Here, we detail the developmental events that underlie such coupling and recap the molecular mechanisms by which coupling is achieved.