scholarly journals Gram-negative outer membrane proteins with multiple β-barrel domains

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Solan ◽  
Joana Pereira ◽  
Andrei N. Lupas ◽  
Rachel Kolodny ◽  
Nir Ben-Tal

AbstractOuter membrane beta barrels (OMBBs) are found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and eukaryotic organelles. OMBBs fold as antiparallel β-sheets that close onto themselves, forming pores that traverse the membrane. Currently known structures include only one barrel, of 8-36 strands, per chain. The lack of multi-OMBB chains is surprising, as most OMBBs form oligomers and some function only in this state. Using a combination of sensitive sequence-comparison methods and co-evolutionary analysis tools, we identify many proteins combining multiple beta barrels within a single chain; combinations that include 8-stranded barrels prevail. These multi-barrels seem to be the result of independent, lineage-specific fusion and amplification events. The absence of multi-barrels that are universally conserved in bacteria with an outer membrane, coupled with their frequent de novo genesis suggests that their functions are not essential, but rather beneficial in specific environments. Adjacent barrels of complementary function within the same chain may allow for new functions beyond those of the individual barrels.

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (31) ◽  
pp. e2104059118
Author(s):  
Ron Solan ◽  
Joana Pereira ◽  
Andrei N. Lupas ◽  
Rachel Kolodny ◽  
Nir Ben-Tal

Outer-membrane beta barrels (OMBBs) are found in the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria and eukaryotic organelles. OMBBs fold as antiparallel β-sheets that close onto themselves, forming pores that traverse the membrane. Currently known structures include only one barrel, of 8 to 36 strands, per chain. The lack of multi-OMBB chains is surprising, as most OMBBs form oligomers, and some function only in this state. Using a combination of sensitive sequence comparison methods and coevolutionary analysis tools, we identify many proteins combining multiple beta barrels within a single chain; combinations that include eight-stranded barrels prevail. These multibarrels seem to be the result of independent, lineage-specific fusion and amplification events. The absence of multibarrels that are universally conserved in bacteria with an outer membrane, coupled with their frequent de novo genesis, suggests that their functions are not essential but rather beneficial in specific environments. Adjacent barrels of complementary function within the same chain may allow for functions beyond those of the individual barrels.


2020 ◽  
Vol 202 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Hart ◽  
Thomas J. Silhavy

ABSTRACT The heteropentomeric β-barrel assembly machine (BAM complex) is responsible for folding and inserting a diverse array of β-barrel outer membrane proteins (OMPs) into the outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria. The BAM complex contains two essential proteins, the β-barrel OMP BamA and a lipoprotein BamD, whereas the auxiliary lipoproteins BamBCE are individually nonessential. Here, we identify and characterize three bamA mutations, the E-to-K change at position 470 (bamAE470K), the A-to-P change at position 496 (bamAA496P), and the A-to-S change at position 499 (bamAA499S), that suppress the otherwise lethal ΔbamD, ΔbamB ΔbamC ΔbamE, and ΔbamC ΔbamD ΔbamE mutations. The viability of cells lacking different combinations of BAM complex lipoproteins provides the opportunity to examine the role of the individual proteins in OMP assembly. Results show that, in wild-type cells, BamBCE share a redundant function; at least one of these lipoproteins must be present to allow BamD to coordinate productively with BamA. Besides BamA regulation, BamD shares an additional essential function that is redundant with a second function of BamB. Remarkably, bamAE470K suppresses both, allowing the construction of a BAM complex composed solely of BamAE470K that is able to assemble OMPs in the absence of BamBCDE. This work demonstrates that the BAM complex lipoproteins do not participate in the catalytic folding of OMP substrates but rather function to increase the efficiency of the assembly process by coordinating and regulating the assembly of diverse OMP substrates. IMPORTANCE The folding and insertion of β-barrel outer membrane proteins (OMPs) are conserved processes in mitochondria, chloroplasts, and Gram-negative bacteria. In Gram-negative bacteria, OMPs are assembled into the outer membrane (OM) by the heteropentomeric β-barrel assembly machine (BAM complex). In this study, we probe the function of the individual BAM proteins and how they coordinate assembly of a diverse family of OMPs. Furthermore, we identify a gain-of-function bamA mutant capable of assembling OMPs independently of all four other BAM proteins. This work advances our understanding of OMP assembly and sheds light on how this process is distinct in Gram-negative bacteria.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (31) ◽  
pp. 18737-18743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Hart ◽  
Meera Gupta ◽  
Martin Wühr ◽  
Thomas J. Silhavy

The outer membrane (OM) of gram-negative bacteria confers innate resistance to toxins and antibiotics. Integral β-barrel outer membrane proteins (OMPs) function to establish and maintain the selective permeability of the OM. OMPs are assembled into the OM by the β-barrel assembly machine (BAM), which is composed of one OMP—BamA—and four lipoproteins—BamB, C, D, and E. BamB, C, and E can be removed individually with only minor effects on barrier function; however, depletion of either BamA or BamD causes a global defect in OMP assembly and results in cell death. We have identified a gain-of-function mutation,bamAE470K, that bypasses the requirement for BamD. AlthoughbamD::kanbamAE470Kcells exhibit growth and OM barrier defects, they assemble OMPs with surprising robustness. Our results demonstrate that BamD does not play a catalytic role in OMP assembly, but rather functions to regulate the activity of BamA.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (13) ◽  
pp. 4460-4469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Sperandeo ◽  
Fion K. Lau ◽  
Andrea Carpentieri ◽  
Cristina De Castro ◽  
Antonio Molinaro ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an essential component of the outer membrane (OM) in most gram-negative bacteria, and its structure and biosynthetic pathway are well known. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of transport and assembly of this molecule at the cell surface are poorly understood. The inner membrane (IM) transport protein MsbA is responsible for flipping LPS across the IM. Additional components of the LPS transport machinery downstream of MsbA have been identified, including the OM protein complex LptD/LptE (formerly Imp/RlpB), the periplasmic LptA protein, the IM-associated cytoplasmic ATP binding cassette protein LptB, and LptC (formerly YrbK), an essential IM component of the LPS transport machinery characterized in this work. Here we show that depletion of any of the proteins mentioned above leads to common phenotypes, including (i) the presence of abnormal membrane structures in the periplasm, (ii) accumulation of de novo-synthesized LPS in two membrane fractions with lower density than the OM, and (iii) accumulation of a modified LPS, which is ligated to repeating units of colanic acid in the outer leaflet of the IM. Our results suggest that LptA, LptB, LptC, LptD, and LptE operate in the LPS assembly pathway and, together with other as-yet-unidentified components, could be part of a complex devoted to the transport of LPS from the periplasmic surface of the IM to the OM. Moreover, the location of at least one of these five proteins in every cellular compartment suggests a model for how the LPS assembly pathway is organized and ordered in space.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (18) ◽  
pp. 6499-6508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karsten R. O. Hazlett ◽  
David L. Cox ◽  
Marc Decaffmeyer ◽  
Michael P. Bennett ◽  
Daniel C. Desrosiers ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The outer membrane of Treponema pallidum, the noncultivable agent of venereal syphilis, contains a paucity of protein(s) which has yet to be definitively identified. In contrast, the outer membranes of gram-negative bacteria contain abundant immunogenic membrane-spanning β-barrel proteins mainly involved in nutrient transport. The absence of orthologs of gram-negative porins and outer membrane nutrient-specific transporters in the T. pallidum genome predicts that nutrient transport across the outer membrane must differ fundamentally in T. pallidum and gram-negative bacteria. Here we describe a T. pallidum outer membrane protein (TP0453) that, in contrast to all integral outer membrane proteins of known structure, lacks extensive β-sheet structure and does not traverse the outer membrane to become surface exposed. TP0453 is a lipoprotein with an amphiphilic polypeptide containing multiple membrane-inserting, amphipathic α-helices. Insertion of the recombinant, nonlipidated protein into artificial membranes results in bilayer destabilization and enhanced permeability. Our findings lead us to hypothesize that TP0453 is a novel type of bacterial outer membrane protein which may render the T. pallidum outer membrane permeable to nutrients while remaining inaccessible to antibody.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-35
Author(s):  
Amir H. Al–Shammary ◽  
Essam F. Al-Jumaily ◽  
Nidhal Abdulmohymen

Approximately, 50% of the dry mass of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria consists of proteins, and more than 20 immunochemically distinct proteins (termed outer membrane proteins [OMPs]) have been identified. An identified local strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae was used as a primary source for the isolation and purification of porins. Multiple concentrations of purified porins (5, 10, 15, 20, 25) g/ml were incubated with three different cell lines for (24, 72 , 120) hrs, after the end of the incubation periods, the cells were treated with Cell proliferation ELISA, BrdU (colorimetric) kit to evaluate the antiproliferative effects of porins. The results revealed that porins are potent antiproliferative agent in a time and concentration dependent manner and thus could greatly affect prokaryote-eukaryote interaction as well as the whole inflammatory process resulted after infection with gram negative bacteria.


2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1151-1163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changxin Xu ◽  
Sanying Wang ◽  
Zhang Zhaoxia ◽  
Xuanxian Peng

2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (14) ◽  
pp. 1984-1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara F. Mahoney ◽  
Dante P. Ricci ◽  
Thomas J. Silhavy

ABSTRACTThe biogenesis of the outer membrane (OM) ofEscherichia coliis a conserved and vital process. The assembly of integral β-barrel outer membrane proteins (OMPs), which represent a major component of the OM, depends on periplasmic chaperones and the heteropentameric β-barrel assembly machine (Bam complex) in the OM. However, not all OMPs are affected by null mutations in the same chaperones or nonessential Bam complex members, suggesting there are categories of substrates with divergent requirements for efficient assembly. We have previously demonstrated two classes of substrates, one comprising large, low-abundance, and difficult-to-assemble substrates that are heavily dependent on SurA and also Skp and FkpA, and the other comprising relatively simple and abundant substrates that are not as dependent on SurA but are strongly dependent on BamB for assembly. Here, we describe novel mutations inbamDthat lower levels of BamD 10-fold and >25-fold without altering the sequence of the mature protein. We utilized these mutations, as well as a previously characterized mutation that lowers wild-type BamA levels, to reveal a third class of substrates. These mutations preferentially cause a marked decrease in the levels of multimeric proteins. This susceptibility of multimers to lowered quantities of Bam machines in the cell may indicate that multiple Bam complexes are needed to efficiently assemble multimeric proteins into the OM.IMPORTANCEThe outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria, such asEscherichia coli, serves as a selective permeability barrier that prevents the uptake of toxic molecules and antibiotics. Integral β-barrel proteins (OMPs) are assembled by the β-barrel assembly machine (Bam), components of which are conserved in mitochondria, chloroplasts, and all Gram-negative bacteria, including many clinically relevant pathogenic species. Bam is essential for OM biogenesis and accommodates a diverse array of client proteins; however, a mechanistic model that accounts for the selectivity and broad substrate range of Bam is lacking. Here, we show that the assembly of multimeric OMPs is more strongly affected than that of monomeric OMPs when essential Bam complex components are limiting, suggesting that multiple Bam complexes are needed to assemble multimeric proteins.


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