scholarly journals Mechanosensitive channel YnaI has lipid-bound extended sensor paddles

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenxin Hu ◽  
Zhiming Wang ◽  
Hongjin Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Strong Support ◽  
General Mechanism ◽  
Mechanosensitive Channels ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Conducting Pathway ◽  
Intact Membrane ◽  
Bound Lipids ◽  
Ion Conducting ◽  
Small Conductance

AbstractThe general mechanism of bacterial mechanosensitive channels (MS) has been characterized by extensive studies on a small conductance channel MscS from Escherichia coli (E. coli). However, recent structural studies on the same channel have revealed controversial roles of various channel-bound lipids in channel gating. To better understand bacterial MscS-like channels, it is necessary to characterize homologs other than MscS. Here, we describe the structure of YnaI, one of the closest MscS homologs in E. coli, in its non-conducting state at 3.3 Å resolution determined by cryo electron microscopy. Our structure revealed the intact membrane sensor paddle domain in YnaI, which was stabilized by functionally important residues H43, Q46, Y50 and K93. In the pockets between sensor paddles, there were clear lipid densities that interact strongly with residues Q100 and R120. These lipids were a mixture of natural lipids but may be enriched in cardiolipin and phosphatidylserine. In addition, residues along the ion-conducting pathway and responsible for the heptameric assembly were discussed. Together with biochemical experiments and mutagenesis studies, our results provide strong support for the idea that the pocket lipids are functionally important for mechanosensitive channels.

scholarly journals Cyclodextrins increase membrane tension and are universal activators of mechanosensitive channels

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles D Cox ◽  
Yixiao Zhang ◽  
Zijing Zhou ◽  
Thomas Walz ◽  
Boris Martinac
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Mechanosensitive Channel ◽  
Mechanical Forces ◽  
Mechanosensitive Channels ◽  
Membrane Tension ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Lipid Environment ◽  
Small Conductance

AbstractThe bacterial mechanosensitive channel of small conductance, MscS, has been extensively studied to understand how mechanical forces are converted into the conformational changes that underlie mechanosensitive (MS) channel gating. We showed that lipid removal by β-cyclodextrin can mimic membrane tension. Here, we show that all cyclodextrins (CDs) can activate reconstituted E. coli MscS, that MscS activation by CDs depends on CD-mediated lipid removal, and that the CD amount required to gate MscS scales with the channel’s sensitivity to membrane tension. CD-mediated lipid removal ultimately causes MscS desensitization, which we show is affected by the lipid environment. CDs can also activate the structurally unrelated MscL. While many MS channels respond to membrane forces, generalized by the ‘force-from-lipids’ principle, their different molecular architectures suggest that they use unique ways to convert mechanical forces into conformational changes. CDs emerge as a universal tool for the structural and functional characterization of unrelated MS channels.

scholarly journals Release factor-dependent ribosome rescue by BrfA in the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Shimokawa-Chiba ◽  
Claudia Müller ◽  
Keigo Fujiwara ◽  
Bertrand Beckert ◽  
Koreaki Ito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Stop Codon ◽  
Release Factor ◽  
Positive Bacterium ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Dead End ◽  
Bacterium Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Bacterium Bacillus

AbstractRescue of the ribosomes from dead-end translation complexes, such as those on truncated (non-stop) mRNA, is essential for the cell. Whereas bacteria use trans-translation for ribosome rescue, some Gram-negative species possess alternative and release factor (RF)-dependent rescue factors, which enable an RF to catalyze stop-codon-independent polypeptide release. We now discover that the Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis has an evolutionarily distinct ribosome rescue factor named BrfA. Genetic analysis shows that B. subtilis requires the function of either trans-translation or BrfA for growth, even in the absence of proteotoxic stresses. Biochemical and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) characterization demonstrates that BrfA binds to non-stop stalled ribosomes, recruits homologous RF2, but not RF1, and induces its transition into an open active conformation. Although BrfA is distinct from E. coli ArfA, they use convergent strategies in terms of mode of action and expression regulation, indicating that many bacteria may have evolved as yet unidentified ribosome rescue systems.

scholarly journals Cryo-EM structure of mycobacterial cytochrome bd reveals two oxygen access channels

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiwei Wang ◽  
Yan Gao ◽  
Yanting Tang ◽  
Xiaoting Zhou ◽  
Yuezheng Lai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rational Design ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Structural Topology ◽  
Antimicrobial Drugs ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cytochrome Bd ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Functional Mechanisms ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Potential Oxygen

AbstractCytochromes bd are ubiquitous amongst prokaryotes including many human-pathogenic bacteria. Such complexes are targets for the development of antimicrobial drugs. However, an understanding of the relationship between the structure and functional mechanisms of these oxidases is incomplete. Here, we have determined the 2.8 Å structure of Mycobacterium smegmatis cytochrome bd by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy. This bd oxidase consists of two subunits CydA and CydB, that adopt a pseudo two-fold symmetrical arrangement. The structural topology of its Q-loop domain, whose function is to bind the substrate, quinol, is significantly different compared to the C-terminal region reported for cytochromes bd from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans (G. th) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). In addition, we have identified two potential oxygen access channels in the structure and shown that similar tunnels also exist in G. th and E. coli cytochromes bd. This study provides insights to develop a framework for the rational design of antituberculosis compounds that block the oxygen access channels of this oxidase.

scholarly journals Responses of Bacillus subtilis to Hypotonic Challenges: Physiological Contributions of Mechanosensitive Channels to Cellular Survival

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 2454-2460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Hoffmann ◽  
Clara Boiangiu ◽  
Susanne Moses ◽  
Erhard Bremer
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Mutational Analysis ◽  
Mechanosensitive Channels ◽  
High Osmolarity ◽  
Cellular Survival ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Quadruple Mutant ◽  
Rapid Transition ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Small Conductance

ABSTRACT Mechanosensitive channels are thought to function as safety valves for the release of cytoplasmic solutes from cells that have to manage a rapid transition from high- to low-osmolarity environments. Subsequent to an osmotic down-shock of cells grown at high osmolarity, Bacillus subtilis rapidly releases the previously accumulated compatible solute glycine betaine in accordance with the degree of the osmotic downshift. Database searches suggest that B. subtilis possesses one copy of a gene for a mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (mscL) and three copies of genes encoding proteins that putatively form mechanosensitive channels of small conductance (yhdY, yfkC, and ykuT). Detailed mutational analysis of all potential channel-forming genes revealed that a quadruple mutant (mscL yhdY yfkC ykuT) has no growth disadvantage in high-osmolarity media in comparison to the wild type. Osmotic down-shock experiments demonstrated that the MscL channel is the principal solute release system of B. subtilis, and strains with a gene disruption in mscL exhibited a severe survival defect upon an osmotic down-shock. We also detected a minor contribution of the SigB-controlled putative MscS-type channel-forming protein YkuT to cellular survival in an mscL mutant. Taken together, our data revealed that mechanosensitive channels of both the MscL and MscS types play pivotal roles in managing the transition of B. subtilis from hyper- to hypo-osmotic environments.

scholarly journals Differential behaviors of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli type II DNA topoisomerases.

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 2714-2720 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Blanche ◽  
B Cameron ◽  
F X Bernard ◽  
L Maton ◽  
B Manse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Dna Gyrase ◽  
Dna Supercoiling ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Topoisomerase Iv ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Dna Relaxation

Staphylococcus aureus gyrA and gyrB genes encoding DNA gyrase subunits were cloned and coexpressed in Escherichia coli under the control of the T7 promoter-T7 RNA polymerase system, leading to soluble gyrase which was purified to homogeneity. Purified gyrase was catalytically indistinguishable from the gyrase purified from S. aureus and did not contain detectable amounts of topoisomerases from the E. coli host. Topoisomerase IV subunits GrlA and GrlB from S. aureus were also expressed in E. coli and were separately purified to apparent homogeneity. Topoisomerase IV, which was reconstituted by mixing equimolar amounts of GrlA and GrlB, had both ATP-dependent decatenation and DNA relaxation activities in vitro. This enzyme was more sensitive than gyrase to inhibition by typical fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agents such as ciprofloxacin or sparfloxacin, adding strong support to genetic studies which indicate that topoisomerase IV is the primary target of fluoroquinolones in S. aureus. The results obtained with ofloxacin suggest that this fluoroquinolone could also primarily target gyrase. No cleavable complex could be detected with S. aureus gyrase upon incubation with ciprofloxacin or sparfloxacin at concentrations which fully inhibit DNA supercoiling. This suggests that these drugs do not stabilize the open DNA-gyrase complex, at least under standard in vitro incubation conditions, but are more likely to interfere primarily with the DNA breakage step, contrary to what has been reported with E. coli gyrase. Both S. aureus gyrase-catalyzed DNA supercoiling and S. aureus topoisomerase IV-catalyzed decatenation were dramatically stimulated by potassium glutamate or aspartate (500- and 50-fold by 700 and 350 mM glutamate, respectively), whereas topoisomerase IV-dependent DNA relaxation was inhibited 3-fold by 350 mM glutamate. The relevance of the effect of dicarboxylic amino acids on the activities of type II topoisomerases is discussed with regard to the intracellular osmolite composition of S. aureus.

scholarly journals A general mechanism of ribosome dimerization revealed by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda E. Franken ◽  
Gert T. Oostergetel ◽  
Tjaard Pijning ◽  
Pranav Puri ◽  
Valentina Arkhipova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Single Particle ◽  
General Mechanism ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy

scholarly journals Viral rhodopsins 1 are an unique family of light-gated cation channels

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitrii Zabelskii ◽  
Alexey Alekseev ◽  
Kirill Kovalev ◽  
Vladan Rankovic ◽  
Taras Balandin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phytoplankton Dynamics ◽  
Neural Firing ◽  
Dna Viruses ◽  
Carbon Cycles ◽  
Marine Food Chain ◽  
Conducting Pathway ◽  
Nucleocytoplasmic Large Dna Viruses ◽  
Ion Conducting ◽  
Unique Potential

Abstract Phytoplankton is the base of the marine food chain as well as oxygen and carbon cycles and thus plays a global role in climate and ecology. Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses that infect phytoplankton organisms and regulate the phytoplankton dynamics encompass genes of rhodopsins of two distinct families. Here, we present a functional and structural characterization of two proteins of viral rhodopsin group 1, OLPVR1 and VirChR1. Functional analysis of VirChR1 shows that it is a highly selective, Na+/K+-conducting channel and, in contrast to known cation channelrhodopsins, it is impermeable to Ca2+ ions. We show that, upon illumination, VirChR1 is able to drive neural firing. The 1.4 Å resolution structure of OLPVR1 reveals remarkable differences from the known channelrhodopsins and a unique ion-conducting pathway. Thus, viral rhodopsins 1 represent a unique, large group of light-gated channels (viral channelrhodopsins, VirChR1s). In nature, VirChR1s likely mediate phototaxis of algae enhancing the host anabolic processes to support virus reproduction, and therefore, might play a major role in global phytoplankton dynamics. Moreover, VirChR1s have unique potential for optogenetics as they lack possibly noxious Ca2+ permeability.

scholarly journals Homologous bd oxidases share the same architecture but differ in mechanism

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Theßeling ◽  
Tim Rasmussen ◽  
Sabrina Burschel ◽  
Daniel Wohlwend ◽  
Jan Kägi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Specific Inhibitor ◽  
Protonmotive Force ◽  
Geobacillus Thermodenitrificans ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Respiratory Chains

Abstract Cytochrome bd oxidases are terminal reductases of bacterial and archaeal respiratory chains. The enzyme couples the oxidation of ubiquinol or menaquinol with the reduction of dioxygen to water, thus contributing to the generation of the protonmotive force. Here, we determine the structure of the Escherichia coli bd oxidase treated with the specific inhibitor aurachin by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The major subunits CydA and CydB are related by a pseudo two fold symmetry. The heme b and d cofactors are found in CydA, while ubiquinone-8 is bound at the homologous positions in CydB to stabilize its structure. The architecture of the E. coli enzyme is highly similar to that of Geobacillus thermodenitrificans, however, the positions of heme b595 and d are interchanged, and a common oxygen channel is blocked by a fourth subunit and substituted by a more narrow, alternative channel. Thus, with the same overall fold, the homologous enzymes exhibit a different mechanism.

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