scholarly journals Native structure of flagellar MS ring is formed by 34 subunits with 23-fold and 11-fold subsymmetries

Author(s):  
Akihiro Kawamoto ◽  
Tomoko Miyata ◽  
Fumiaki Makino ◽  
Miki Kinoshita ◽  
Tohru Minamino ◽  
...  

AbstractThe bacterial flagellar MS ring is a transmembrane complex acting as the core of the flagellar motor. It not only acts as the template for rod and C ring assembly but also houses the type III protein export gate for assembly of the rod, hook and filament. The cytoplasmic C ring, involved in torque generation and rotation switch, is directly attached to the MS ring, and a symmetry mismatch between 26-fold MS ring and 34-fold C ring had been a long puzzle as to whether this would play some role in motor function. Although this puzzle seemed to have been resolved by the recent high-resolution structure of the MS ring with 33-fold symmetry with a variation from 32-fold to 35-fold because the C ring also shows a similar symmetry variation, it still remained ambiguous whether their symmetries are matched in the native motor structure. Here we show that the native MS ring structure formed by full-length FliF is 34-fold with no symmetry variation whereas the C ring has a small symmetry variation, indicating a flexibility in C ring assembly to generate small symmetry mismatches. We also show two conformations of FliF in part of its periplasmic region to form the 34-subunit ring with 23-fold and 11-fold subsymmetries in the inner and middle M ring, respectively, to accommodate the export gate at the center of the M ring.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akihiro Kawamoto ◽  
Tomoko Miyata ◽  
Fumiaki Makino ◽  
Miki Kinoshita ◽  
Tohru Minamino ◽  
...  

AbstractThe bacterial flagellar MS ring is a transmembrane complex acting as the core of the flagellar motor and template for flagellar assembly. The C ring attached to the MS ring is involved in torque generation and rotation switch, and a large symmetry mismatch between these two rings has been a long puzzle, especially with respect to their role in motor function. Here, using cryoEM structural analysis of the flagellar basal body and the MS ring formed by full-length FliF from Salmonella enterica, we show that the native MS ring is formed by 34 FliF subunits with no symmetry variation. Symmetry analysis of the C ring shows a variation with a peak at 34-fold, suggesting flexibility in C ring assembly. Finally, our data also indicate that FliF subunits assume two different conformations, contributing differentially to the inner and middle parts of the M ring and thus resulting in 23- and 11-fold subsymmetries in the inner and middle M ring, respectively. The internal core of the M ring, formed by 23 subunits, forms a hole of the right size to accommodate the protein export gate.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 4567-4574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Korte ◽  
Kai Ludwig ◽  
Frank P. Booy ◽  
Robert Blumenthal ◽  
Andreas Herrmann

ABSTRACT Three strains of influenza virus (H1, H2, and H3) exhibited similar characteristics in the ability of their hemagglutinin (HA) to induce membrane fusion, but the HAs differed in their susceptibility to inactivation. The extent of inactivation depended on the pH of preincubation and was lowest for A/Japan (H2 subtype), in agreement with previous studies (A. Puri, F. Booy, R. W. Doms, J. M. White, and R. Blumenthal, J. Virol. 64:3824–3832, 1990). While significant inactivation of X31 (H3 subtype) was observed at 37°C at pH values corresponding to the maximum of fusion (about pH 5.0), no inactivation was seen at preincubation pH values 0.2 to 0.4 pH units higher. Surprisingly, low-pH preincubation under those conditions enhanced the fusion rates and extents of A/Japan as well as those of X31. For A/PR 8/34 (H1 subtype), neither a shift of the pH (to >5.0) nor a decrease of the temperature to 20°C was sufficient to prevent inactivation. We provide evidence that the activated HA is a conformational intermediate distinct from the native structure and from the final structure associated with the conformational change of HA, which is implicated by the high-resolution structure of the soluble trimeric fragment TBHA2 (P. A. Bullough, F. M. Hughson, J. J. Skehel, and D. C. Wiley, Nature 371:37–43, 1994).


2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (21) ◽  
pp. 5609-5615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Terashima ◽  
Masafumi Koike ◽  
Seiji Kojima ◽  
Michio Homma

ABSTRACT In Vibrio alginolyticus, the flagellar motor can rotate at a remarkably high speed, ca. three to four times faster than the Escherichia coli or Salmonella motor. Here, we found a Vibrio-specific protein, FlgT, in the purified flagellar basal body fraction. Defects of FlgT resulted in partial Fla− and Mot− phenotypes, suggesting that FlgT is involved in formation of the flagellar structure and generating flagellar rotation. Electron microscopic observation of the basal body of ΔflgT cells revealed a smaller LP ring structure compared to the wild type, and most of the T ring was lost. His6-tagged FlgT could be coisolated with MotY, the T-ring component, suggesting that FlgT may interact with the T ring composed of MotX and MotY. From these lines of evidence, we conclude that FlgT associates with the basal body and is responsible to form an outer ring of the LP ring, named the H ring, which can be distinguished from the LP ring formed by FlgH and FlgI. Vibrio-specific structures, e.g., the T ring and H ring might contribute the more robust motor structure compared to that of E. coli and Salmonella.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4519
Author(s):  
Chihong Song ◽  
Tadashi Satoh ◽  
Taichiro Sekiguchi ◽  
Koichi Kato ◽  
Kazuyoshi Murata

The 20S proteasome, which is composed of layered α and β heptameric rings, is the core complex of the eukaryotic proteasome involved in proteolysis. The α7 subunit is a component of the α ring, and it self-assembles into a homo-tetradecamer consisting of two layers of α7 heptameric rings. However, the structure of the α7 double ring in solution has not been fully elucidated. We applied cryo-electron microscopy to delineate the structure of the α7 double ring in solution, revealing a structure different from the previously reported crystallographic model. The D7-symmetrical double ring was stacked with a 15° clockwise twist and a separation of 3 Å between the two rings. Two more conformations, dislocated and fully open, were also identified. Our observations suggest that the α7 double-ring structure fluctuates considerably in solution, allowing for the insertion of homologous α subunits, finally converting to the hetero-heptameric α rings in the 20S proteasome.


Author(s):  
Peter G. Self ◽  
Peter R. Buseck

ALCHEMI (Atom Location by CHanneling Enhanced Microanalysis) enables the site occupancy of atoms in single crystals to be determined. In this article the fundamentals of the method for both EDS and EELS will be discussed. Unlike HRTEM, ALCHEMI does not place stringent resolution requirements on the microscope and, because EDS clearly distinguishes between elements of similar atomic number, it can offer some advantages over HRTEM. It does however, place certain constraints on the crystal. These constraints are: a) the sites of interest must lie on alternate crystallographic planes, b) the projected charge density on the alternate planes must be significantly different, and c) there must be at least one atomic species that lies solely on one of the planes.An electron beam incident on a crystal undergoes elastic scattering; in reciprocal space this is seen as a diffraction pattern and in real space this is a modulation of the electron current across the unit cell. When diffraction is strong (i.e., when the crystal is oriented near to the Bragg angle of a low-order reflection) the electron current at one point in the unit cell will differ significantly from that at another point.


Author(s):  
E.D. Boyes ◽  
P.L. Gai ◽  
D.B. Darby ◽  
C. Warwick

The extended crystallographic defects introduced into some oxide catalysts under operating conditions may be a consequence and accommodation of the changes produced by the catalytic activity, rather than always being the origin of the reactivity. Operation without such defects has been established for the commercially important tellurium molybdate system. in addition it is clear that the point defect density and the electronic structure can both have a significant influence on the chemical properties and hence on the effectiveness (activity and selectivity) of the material as a catalyst. SEM/probe techniques more commonly applied to semiconductor materials, have been investigated to supplement the information obtained from in-situ environmental cell HVEM, ultra-high resolution structure imaging and more conventional AEM and EPMA chemical microanalysis.


Author(s):  
R.A. Milligan ◽  
P.N.T. Unwin

A detailed understanding of the mechanism of protein synthesis will ultimately depend on knowledge of the native structure of the ribosome. Towards this end we have investigated the low resolution structure of the eukaryotic ribosome embedded in frozen buffer, making use of a system in which the ribosomes crystallize naturally.The ribosomes in the cells of early chicken embryos form crystalline arrays when the embryos are cooled at 4°C. We have developed methods to isolate the stable unit of these arrays, the ribosome tetramer, and have determined conditions for the growth of two-dimensional crystals in vitro, Analysis of the proteins in the crystals by 2-D gel electrophoresis demonstrates the presence of all ribosomal proteins normally found in polysomes. There are in addition, four proteins which may facilitate crystallization. The crystals are built from two oppositely facing P4 layers and the predominant crystal form, accounting for >80% of the crystals, has the tetragonal space group P4212, X-ray diffraction of crystal pellets demonstrates that crystalline order extends to ~ 60Å.


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