Four-helical-bundle structure of the cytoplasmic domain of a serine chemotaxis receptor

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy measurements of the membrane protein TetA in Escherichia coli suggest rapid diffusion at short length scales

Structural inhomogeneities in biomembranes can lead to complex diffusive behavior of membrane proteins that depend on the length or time scales that are probed. This effect is well studied in eukaryotic cells, but has been explored only recently in bacteria. Here we used fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to study diffusion of the membrane protein TetA-YFP in E. coli. We find that the diffusion constant determined from FRAP is comparable to other reports of inner membrane protein diffusion constants in E. coli. However, FCS, which probes diffusion on shorter length scales, gives a value that is almost two orders of magnitude higher and is comparable to lipid diffusion constants. These results suggest there is a population of TetA-YFP molecules in the membrane that move rapidly over short length scales (~ 400 nm) but move significantly more slowly over the longer length scales probed by FRAP.

Influence of membrane lipid composition on a transmembrane bacterial chemoreceptor

Most bacterial chemoreceptors are transmembrane proteins. Although less than 10% of a transmembrane chemoreceptor is embedded in lipid, separation from the natural membrane environment by detergent solubilization eliminates most receptor activities, presumably because receptor structure is perturbed. Reincorporation into a lipid bilayer can restore these activities and thus functionally native structure. However, the extent to which specific lipid features are important for effective restoration is unknown. Thus we investigated effects of membrane lipid composition on chemoreceptor Tar from Escherichia coli using Nanodiscs, small (∼10-nm) plugs of lipid bilayer rendered water-soluble by an annulus of "membrane scaffold protein." Disc-enclosed bilayers can be made with different lipids or lipid combinations. Nanodiscs carrying an inserted receptor dimer have high protein-to-lipid ratios approximating native membranes and in this way mimic the natural chemoreceptor environment. To identify features important for functionally native receptor structure, we made Nanodiscs using natural and synthetic lipids, assaying extents and rates of adaptational modification. The proportion of functionally native Tar was highest in bilayers closest in composition to E. coli cytoplasmic membrane. Some other lipid compositions resulted in a significant proportion of functionally native receptor, but simply surrounding the chemoreceptor transmembrane segment with a lipid bilayer was not sufficient. Membranes effective in supporting functionally native Tar contained as the majority lipid phosphatidylethanolamine or a related zwitterionic lipid plus a rather specific proportion of anionic lipids, as well as unsaturated fatty acids. Thus the chemoreceptor is strongly influenced by its lipid environment and is tuned to its natural one.

Ligand affinity and kinase activity are independent of bacterial chemotaxis receptor concentration: insight into signaling mechanisms

Binding of attractant to bacterial chemotaxis receptors initiates a transmembrane signal that inhibits the kinase CheA bound ~300 Å distant at the other end of the receptor. Chemoreceptors form large clusters in many bacterial species, and the extent of clustering has been reported to vary with signaling state. To test whether ligand binding regulates kinase activity by modulating a clustering equilibrium, we measured the effects of two-dimensional receptor concentration on kinase activity in proteoliposomes containing the purified Escherichia coli serine receptor reconstituted into vesicles over a range of lipid:protein molar ratios. The IC(50) of kinase inhibition was unchanged despite a 10-fold change in receptor concentration. Such a change in concentration would have produced a measurable shift in the IC(50) if receptor clustering were involved in kinase regulation, based on a simple model in which the receptor oligomerization and ligand binding equilibria are coupled. These results indicate that the primary signal, ligand control of kinase activity, does not involve a change in receptor oligomerization state. In combination with previous work on cytoplasmic fragments assembled on vesicle surfaces [Besschetnova, T. Y., et al. (2008) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.105, 12289-12294], this suggests that binding of ligand to chemotaxis receptors inhibits the kinase by inducing a conformational change that expands the membrane area occupied by the receptor cytoplasmic domain, without changing the number of associated receptors in the signaling complex.

Functional and structural comparison of pyrrolnitrin- and iprodione-induced modifications in the class III histidine-kinase Bos1 of Botrytis cinerea

Dicarboximides and phenylpyrroles are commonly used fungicides against plant pathogenic ascomycetes. Although their effect on fungal osmosensing systems has been shown in many studies, their modes-of-action still remain unclear. Laboratory- or field-mutants of fungi resistant to either or both fungicide categories generally harbour point mutations in the sensor histidine kinase of the osmotic signal transduction cascade.In the present study we compared the mechanisms of resistance to the dicarboximide iprodione and to pyrrolnitrin, a structural analogue of phenylpyrrole fungicides, in Botrytis cinerea. Pyrrolnitrin-induced mutants and iprodione-induced mutants of B. cinerea were produced in vitro. For the pyrrolnitrin-induced mutants, a high level of resistance to pyrrolnitrin was associated with a high level of resistance to iprodione. For the iprodione-induced mutants, the high level of resistance to iprodione generated variable levels of resistance to pyrrolnitrin and phenylpyrroles. All selected mutants showed hypersensitivity to high osmolarity and regardless of their resistance levels to phenylpyrroles, they showed strongly reduced fitness parameters (sporulation, mycelial growth, aggressiveness on plants) compared to the parental phenotypes. Most of the mutants presented modifications in the osmosensing class III histidine kinase affecting the HAMP domains. Site directed mutagenesis of the bos1 gene was applied to validate eight of the identified mutations. Structure modelling of the HAMP domains revealed that the replacements of hydrophobic residues within the HAMP domains generally affected their helical structure, probably abolishing signal transduction. Comparing mutant phenotypes to the HAMP structures, our study suggests that mutations perturbing helical structures of HAMP2-4 abolish signal-transduction leading to loss-of-function phenotype. The mutation of residues E529, M427, and T581, without consequences on HAMP structure, highlighted their involvement in signal transduction. E529 and M427 seem to be principally involved in osmotic signal transduction.

A "trimer of dimers"-based model for the chemotactic signal transduction network in bacterial chemotaxis

The network that controls chemotaxis in Escherichia coli is one of the most completely characterized signal transduction systems to date. Receptor clustering accounts for characteristics such as high sensitivity, precise adaptation over a wide dynamic range of ligand concentrations, and robustness to variations in the amounts of intracellular proteins. To gain insights into the structure-function relationship of receptor clusters and understand the mechanism behind the high-performance signaling, we develop and analyze a model for a single trimer of dimers. This new model extends an earlier model (Spiro et al. in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 94:7263-7268, 1997) to incorporate the recent experimental findings that the core structure of receptor clusters is the trimer of receptor dimers. We show that the model can reproduce most of the experimentally-observed behaviors, including excitation, adaptation, high sensitivity, and robustness to parameter variations. In addition, the model makes a number of new predictions as to how the adaptation time varies with the expression level of various proteins involved in signal transduction. Our results provide a more mechanistically-based description of the structure-function relationship for the signaling system, and show the key role of the interaction among dimer members of the trimer in the chemotactic response of cells.

Structure and proposed mechanism for the pH-sensing Helicobacter pylori chemoreceptor TlpB

pH sensing is crucial for survival of most organisms, yet the molecular basis of such sensing is poorly understood. Here, we present an atomic resolution structure of the periplasmic portion of the acid-sensing chemoreceptor, TlpB, from the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori. The structure reveals a universal signaling fold, a PAS domain, with a molecule of urea bound with high affinity. Through biophysical, biochemical, and in vivo mutagenesis studies, we show that urea and the urea-binding site residues play critical roles in the ability of H. pylori to sense acid. Our signaling model predicts that protonation events at Asp114, affected by changes in pH, dictate the stability of TlpB through urea binding.

CheA-receptor interaction sites in bacterial chemotaxis

In bacterial chemotaxis, transmembrane chemoreceptors, the CheA histidine kinase, and the CheW coupling protein assemble into signaling complexes that allow bacteria to modulate their swimming behavior in response to environmental stimuli. Among the protein-protein interactions in the ternary complex, CheA-CheW and CheW-receptor interactions were studied previously, whereas CheA-receptor interaction has been less investigated. Here, we characterize the CheA-receptor interaction in Thermotoga maritima by NMR spectroscopy and validate the identified receptor binding site of CheA in Escherichia coli chemotaxis. We find that CheA interacts with a chemoreceptor in a manner similar to that of CheW, and the receptor binding site of CheA's regulatory domain is homologous to that of CheW. Collectively, the receptor binding sites in the CheA-CheW complex suggest that conformational changes in CheA are required for assembly of the CheA-CheW-receptor ternary complex and CheA activation.

Molecular architecture of chemoreceptor arrays revealed by cryoelectron tomography of Escherichia coli minicells

The chemoreceptors of Escherichia coli localize to the cell poles and form a highly ordered array in concert with the CheA kinase and the CheW coupling factor. However, a high-resolution structure of the array has been lacking, and the molecular basis of array assembly has thus remained elusive. Here, we use cryoelectron tomography of flagellated E. coli minicells to derive a 3D map of the intact array. Docking of high-resolution structures into the 3D map provides a model of the core signaling complex, in which a CheA/CheW dimer bridges two adjacent receptor trimers via multiple hydrophobic interactions. A further, hitherto unknown, hydrophobic interaction between CheW and the homologous P5 domain of CheA in an adjacent core complex connects the complexes into an extended array. This architecture provides a structural basis for array formation and could explain the high sensitivity and cooperativity of chemotaxis signaling in E. coli.

HAMP domain signal relay mechanism in a sensory rhodopsin-transducer complex

The phototaxis receptor complex composed of sensory rhodopsin II (SRII) and the transducer subunit HtrII mediates photorepellent responses in haloarchaea. Light-activated SRII transmits a signal through two HAMP switch domains (HAMP1 and HAMP2) in HtrII that bridge the photoreceptive membrane domain of the complex and the cytoplasmic output kinase-modulating domain. HAMP domains, widespread signal relay modules in prokaryotic sensors, consist of four-helix bundles composed of two helices, AS1 and AS2, from each of two dimerized transducer subunits. To examine their molecular motion during signal transmission, we incorporated SRII-HtrII dimeric complexes in nanodiscs to allow unrestricted probe access to the cytoplasmic side HAMP domains. Spin-spin dipolar coupling measurements confirmed that in the nanodiscs, SRII photoactivation induces helix movement in the HtrII membrane domain diagnostic of transducer activation. Labeling kinetics of a fluorescein probe in monocysteine-substituted HAMP1 mutants revealed a light-induced shift of AS2 against AS1 by one-half α-helix turn with minimal other changes. An opposite shift of AS2 against AS1 in HAMP2 at the corresponding positions supports the proposal from x-ray crystal structures by Airola et al. (Airola, M. V., Watts, K. J., Bilwes, A. M., and Crane, B. R. (2010) Structure 18, 436-448) that poly-HAMP chains undergo alternating opposite interconversions to relay the signal. Moreover, we found that haloarchaeal cells expressing a HAMP2-deleted SRII-HtrII exhibit attractant phototaxis, opposite from the repellent phototaxis mediated by the wild-type di-HAMP SRII-HtrII complex. The opposite conformational changes and corresponding opposite output signals of HAMP1 and HAMP2 imply a signal transmission mechanism entailing small shifts in helical register between AS1 and AS2 alternately in opposite directions in adjacent HAMPs.

The S-helix determines the signal in a Tsr receptor/adenylyl cyclase reporter

A signaling or S-helix has been identified as a conserved, up to 50-residue-long segment in diverse sensory proteins. It is present in all major bacterial lineages and in euryarchea and eukaryotes. A bioinformatic analysis shows that it connects upstream receiver and downstream output domains, e.g. in histidine kinases and bacterial adenylyl cyclases. The S-helix is modeled as a two-helical parallel coiled coil. It is predicted to prevent constitutive activation of the downstream signaling domains in the absence of ligand-binding. We identified an S-helix of about 25 residues in the adenylyl cyclase CyaG from Arthrospira maxima. Deletion of the 25 residue segment connecting the HAMP and catalytic domains in a chimera with the Escherichia coli Tsr receptor changed the response to serine from inhibition to stimulation. Further examination showed that a deletion of one to three heptads plus a presumed stutter, i.e. 1, 2, or 3 × 7 + 4 amino acids, is required and sufficient for signal reversion. It was not necessary that the deletions be continuous, as removal of separated heptads and presumed stutters also resulted in signal reversion. Furthermore, insertion of the above segments between the HAMP and cyclase catalytic domains similarly resulted in signal reversion. This indicates that the S-helix is an independent, segmented module capable to reverse the receptor signal. Because the S-helix is present in all kingdoms of life, e.g. in human retinal guanylyl cyclase, our findings may be significant for many sensory systems.

Bacterial chemoreceptor arrays are hexagonally packed trimers of receptor dimers networked by rings of kinase and coupling proteins

Chemoreceptor arrays are supramolecular transmembrane machines of unknown structure that allow bacteria to sense their surroundings and respond by chemotaxis. We have combined X-ray crystallography of purified proteins with electron cryotomography of native arrays inside cells to reveal the arrangement of the component transmembrane receptors, histidine kinases (CheA) and CheW coupling proteins. Trimers of receptor dimers lie at the vertices of a hexagonal lattice in a "two-facing-two" configuration surrounding a ring of alternating CheA regulatory domains (P5) and CheW couplers. Whereas the CheA kinase domains (P4) project downward below the ring, the CheA dimerization domains (P3) link neighboring rings to form an extended, stable array. This highly interconnected protein architecture underlies the remarkable sensitivity and cooperative nature of transmembrane signaling in bacterial chemotaxis.

Transmembrane signal transduction in archaeal phototaxis: the sensory rhodopsin II-transducer complex studied by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy

Archaeal photoreceptors, together with their cognate transducer proteins, mediate phototaxis by regulating cell motility through two-component signal transduction pathways. This sensory pathway is closely related to the bacterial chemotactic system, which has been studied in detail during the past 40 years. Structural and functional studies applying site-directed spin labelling and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy on the sensory rhodopsin II/transducer (NpSRII/NpHtrII) complex of Natronomonas pharaonis have yielded insights into the structure, the mechanisms of signal perception, the signal transduction across the membrane and provided information about the subsequent information transfer within the transducer protein towards the components of the intracellular signalling pathway. Here, we provide an overview about the findings of the last decade, which, combined with the wealth of data from research on the Escherichia coli chemotaxis system, served to understand the basic principles microorganisms use to adapt to their environment. We document the time course of a signal being perceived at the membrane, transferred across the membrane and, for the first time, how this signal modulates the dynamic properties of a HAMP domain, a ubiquitous signal transduction module found in various protein classes.

The receptor-CheW binding interface in bacterial chemotaxis

The basic structural unit of the signaling complex in bacterial chemotaxis consists of the chemotaxis kinase CheA, the coupling protein CheW, and chemoreceptors. These complexes play an important role in regulating the kinase activity of CheA and in turn controlling the rotational bias of the flagellar motor. Although individual three-dimensional structures of CheA, CheW, and chemoreceptors have been determined, the interaction between chemoreceptor and CheW is still unclear. We used nuclear magnetic resonance to characterize the interaction modes of chemoreceptor and CheW from Thermotoga maritima. We find that chemoreceptor binding surface is located near the highly conserved tip region of the N-terminal helix of the receptor, whereas the binding interface of CheW is placed between the β-strand 8 of domain 1 and the β-strands 1 and 3 of domain 2. The receptor-CheW complex shares a similar binding interface to that found in the "trimer-of-dimers" oligomer interface seen in the crystal structure of cytoplasmic domains of chemoreceptors from Escherichia coli. Based on the association constants inferred from fast exchange chemical shifts associated with receptor-CheW titrations, we estimate that CheW binds about four times tighter to its first binding site of the receptor dimer than to its second binding site. This apparent anticooperativity in binding may reflect the close proximity of the two CheW binding surfaces near the receptor tip or further, complicating the events at this highly conserved region of the receptor. This work describes the first direct observation of the interaction between chemoreceptor and CheW.

Direct evidence that the carboxyl-terminal sequence of a bacterial chemoreceptor is an unstructured linker and enzyme tether

Sensory adaptation in bacterial chemotaxis involves reversible methylation of specific glutamyl residues on chemoreceptors. The reactions are catalyzed by a dedicated methyltransferase and dedicated methylesterase. In Escherichia coli and related organisms, control of these enzymes includes an evolutionarily recent addition of interaction with a pentapeptide activator located at the carboxyl terminus of the receptor polypeptide chain. Effective enzyme activation requires not only the pentapeptide but also a segment of the receptor polypeptide chain between that sequence and the coiled-coil body of the chemoreceptor. This segment has features consistent with a role as a flexible and presumably unstructured linker and enzyme tether, but there has been no direct information about its structure. We used site-directed spin labeling and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to characterize structural features of the carboxyl-terminal 40 residues of E. coli chemoreceptor Tar. Beginning ∼ 35 residues from the carboxyl terminus and continuing to the end of the protein, spectra of spin-labeled Tar embedded in native membranes or in reconstituted proteoliposomes, exhibited mobilities characteristic of unstructured, disordered segments. Binding of methyltransferase substantially reduced mobility for positions in or near the pentapeptide but mobility for the linker sequence remained high, being only modestly reduced in a gradient of decreasing effects for 10-15 residues, a pattern consistent with the linker providing a flexible arm that would allow enzyme diffusion within defined limits. Thus, our data identify that the carboxyl-terminal linker between the receptor body and the pentapeptide is an unstructured, disordered segment that can serve as a flexible arm and enzyme tether.

Transmembrane helix dynamics of bacterial chemoreceptors supports a piston model of signalling

Transmembrane α-helices play a key role in many receptors, transmitting a signal from one side to the other of the lipid bilayer membrane. Bacterial chemoreceptors are one of the best studied such systems, with a wealth of biophysical and mutational data indicating a key role for the TM2 helix in signalling. In particular, aromatic (Trp and Tyr) and basic (Arg) residues help to lock α-helices into a membrane. Mutants in TM2 of E. coli Tar and related chemoreceptors involving these residues implicate changes in helix location and/or orientation in signalling. We have investigated the detailed structural basis of this via high throughput coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CG-MD) of Tar TM2 and its mutants in lipid bilayers. We focus on the position (shift) and orientation (tilt, rotation) of TM2 relative to the bilayer and how these are perturbed in mutants relative to the wildtype. The simulations reveal a clear correlation between small (ca. 1.5 Å) shift in position of TM2 along the bilayer normal and downstream changes in signalling activity. Weaker correlations are seen with helix tilt, and little/none between signalling and helix twist. This analysis of relatively subtle changes was only possible because the high throughput simulation method allowed us to run large (n = 100) ensembles for substantial numbers of different helix sequences, amounting to ca. 2000 simulations in total. Overall, this analysis supports a swinging-piston model of transmembrane signalling by Tar and related chemoreceptors.

Activated chemoreceptor arrays remain intact and hexagonally packed

Bacterial chemoreceptors cluster into exquisitively sensitive, tunable, highly ordered, polar arrays. While these arrays serve as paradigms of cell signalling in general, it remains unclear what conformational changes transduce signals from the periplasmic tips, where attractants and repellents bind, to the cytoplasmic signalling domains. Conflicting reports support and contest the hypothesis that activation causes large changes in the packing arrangement of the arrays, up to and including their complete disassembly. Using electron cryotomography, here we show that in Caulobacter crescentus, chemoreceptor arrays in cells grown in different media and immediately after exposure to the attractant galactose all exhibit the same 12 nm hexagonal packing arrangement, array size and other structural parameters. ΔcheB and ΔcheR mutants mimicking attractant- or repellent-bound states prior to adaptation also show the same lattice structure. We conclude that signal transduction and amplification must be accomplished through only small, nanoscale conformational changes.

My life with nature

After a childhood in Germany and being a youth in Grand Forks, North Dakota, I went to Harvard University, then to graduate school in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin. Then to Washington University and Stanford University for postdoctoral training in biochemistry and genetics. Then at the University of Wisconsin, as a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and the Department of Genetics, I initiated research on bacterial chemotaxis. Here, I review this research by me and by many, many others up to the present moment. During the past few years, I have been studying chemotaxis and related behavior in animals, namely in Drosophila fruit flies, and some of these results are presented here. My current thinking is described.

Effects of receptor modification and temperature on dynamics of sensory complexes in Escherichia coli chemotaxis

BACKGROUND

Extracellular stimuli in chemotaxis of Escherichia coli and other bacteria are processed by large clusters of sensory complexes. The stable core of these clusters is formed by transmembrane receptors, a kinase CheA, and an adaptor CheW, whereas adaptation enzymes CheR and CheB dynamically associate with the clusters via interactions with receptors and/or CheA. Several biochemical studies have indicated the dependence of the sensory complex stability on the adaptive modification state of receptors and/or on temperature, which may potentially allow environment-dependent tuning of its signalling properties. However, the extent of such regulation in vivo and its significance for chemotaxis remained unclear.

RESULTS

Here we used fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) to confirm in vivo that the exchange of CheA and CheW shows a modest dependency on the level of receptor modification/activity. An even more dramatic effect was observed for the exchange kinetics of CheR and CheB, indicating that their association with clusters may depend on the ability to bind substrate sites on receptors and on the regulatory phosphorylation of CheB. In contrast, environmental temperature did not have a discernible effect on stability of the cluster core. Strain-specific loss of E. coli chemotaxis at high temperature could instead be explained by a heat-induced reduction in the chemotaxis protein levels. Nevertheless, high basal levels of chemotaxis and flagellar proteins in common wild type strains MG1655 and W3110 enabled these strains to maintain their chemotactic ability up to 42°C.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results confirmed that clusters formed by less modified receptors are more dynamic, which can explain the previously observed adjustment of the chemotaxis response sensitivity according to the level of background stimulation. We further propose that the dependency of CheR exchange on the availability of unmethylated sites on receptors is important to improve the overall chemotaxis efficiency by suppressing molecular noise under conditions of high ligand concentrations. Moreover, the observed stability of the cluster core at high temperature is in line with the overall thermal robustness of the chemotaxis pathway and allows maintenance of chemotaxis up to 42°C in the common wild type strains of E. coli.

Phenol sensing by Escherichia coli chemoreceptors: a nonclassical mechanism

The four transmembrane chemoreceptors of Escherichia coli sense phenol as either an attractant (Tar) or a repellent (Tap, Trg, and Tsr). In this study, we investigated the Tar determinants that mediate its attractant response to phenol and the Tsr determinants that mediate its repellent response to phenol. Tar molecules with lesions in the aspartate-binding pocket of the periplasmic domain, with a foreign periplasmic domain (from Tsr or from several Pseudomonas chemoreceptors), or lacking nearly the entire periplasmic domain still mediated attractant responses to phenol. Similarly, Tar molecules with the cytoplasmic methylation and kinase control domains of Tsr still sensed phenol as an attractant. Additional hybrid receptors with signaling elements from both Tar and Tsr indicated that the transmembrane (TM) helices and HAMP domain determined the sign of the phenol-sensing response. Several amino acid replacements in the HAMP domain of Tsr, particularly attractant-mimic signaling lesions at residue E248, converted Tsr to an attractant sensor of phenol. These findings suggest that phenol may elicit chemotactic responses by diffusing into the cytoplasmic membrane and perturbing the structural stability or position of the TM bundle helices, in conjunction with structural input from the HAMP domain. We conclude that behavioral responses to phenol, and perhaps to temperature, cytoplasmic pH, and glycerol, as well, occur through a general sensing mechanism in chemoreceptors that detects changes in the structural stability or dynamic behavior of a receptor signaling element. The structurally sensitive target for phenol is probably the TM bundle, but other behaviors could target other receptor elements.

Mutational analysis of N381, a key trimer contact residue in Tsr, the Escherichia coli serine chemoreceptor

Chemoreceptors such as Tsr, the serine receptor, function in trimer-of-dimer associations to mediate chemotactic behavior in Escherichia coli. The two subunits of each receptor homodimer occupy different positions in the trimer, one at its central axis and the other at the trimer periphery. Residue N381 of Tsr contributes to trimer stability through interactions with its counterparts in a central cavity surrounded by hydrophobic residues at the trimer axis. To assess the functional role of N381, we created and characterized a full set of amino acid replacements at this Tsr residue. We found that every amino acid replacement at N381 destroyed Tsr function, and all but one (N381G) of the mutant receptors also blocked signaling by Tar, the aspartate chemoreceptor. Tar jamming reflects the formation of signaling-defective mixed trimers of dimers, and in vivo assays with a trifunctional cross-linking reagent demonstrated trimer-based interactions between Tar and Tsr-N381 mutants. Mutant Tsr molecules with a charged amino acid or proline replacement exhibited the most severe trimer formation defects. These trimer-defective receptors, as well as most of the trimer-competent mutant receptors, were unable to form ternary signaling complexes with the CheA kinase and with CheW, which couples CheA to receptor control. Some of the trimer-competent mutant receptors, particularly those with a hydrophobic amino acid replacement, may not bind CheW/CheA because they form conformationally frozen or distorted trimers. These findings indicate that trimer dynamics probably are important for ternary complex assembly and that N381 may not be a direct binding determinant for CheW/CheA at the trimer periphery.

An insight into the interaction mode between CheB and chemoreceptor from two crystal structures of CheB methylesterase catalytic domain

We have determined 2.2 Å resolution crystal structure of Thermotoga maritima CheB methylesterase domain to provide insight into the interaction mode between CheB and chemoreceptors. T. maritima CheB methylesterase domain has identical topology of a modified doubly-wound α/β fold that was observed from the previously reported Salmonella typhimurium counterpart, but the analysis of the electrostatic potential surface near the catalytic triad indicated considerable charge distribution difference. As the CheB demethylation consensus sites of the chemoreceptors, the CheB substrate, are not uniquely conserved between T. maritima and S. typhimurium, such surfaces with differing electrostatic properties may reflect CheB regions that mediate protein-protein interaction. Via the computational docking of the two T. maritima and S. typhimurium CheB structures to the respective T. maritima and Escherichia coli chemoreceptors, we propose a CheB:chemoreceptor interaction mode.

Adapt locally and act globally: strategy to maintain high chemoreceptor sensitivity in complex environments

In bacterial chemotaxis, several types of ligand-specific receptors form mixed clusters, wherein receptor-receptor interactions lead to signal amplification and integration. However, it remains unclear how a mixed receptor cluster adapts to individual stimuli and whether it can differentiate between different types of ligands. Here, we combine theoretical modeling with experiments to reveal the adaptation dynamics of the mixed chemoreceptor cluster in Escherichia coli. We show that adaptation occurs locally and is ligand-specific: only the receptor that binds the external ligand changes its methylation level when the system adapts, whereas other types of receptors change methylation levels transiently. Permanent methylation crosstalk occurs when the system fails to adapt accurately. This local adaptation mechanism enables cells to differentiate individual stimuli by encoding them into the methylation levels of corresponding types of chemoreceptors. It tunes each receptor to its most responsive state to maintain high sensitivity in complex environments and prevents saturation of the cluster by one signal.

The physical and functional thermal sensitivity of bacterial chemoreceptors

The bacterium Escherichia coli exhibits chemotactic behavior at temperatures ranging from approximately 20 °C to at least 42 °C. This behavior is controlled by clusters of transmembrane chemoreceptors made from trimers of dimers that are linked together by cross-binding to cytoplasmic components. By detecting fluorescence energy transfer between various components of this system, we studied the underlying molecular behavior of these receptors in vivo and throughout their operating temperature range. We reveal a sharp modulation in the conformation of unclustered and clustered receptor trimers and, consequently, in kinase activity output. These modulations occurred at a characteristic temperature that depended on clustering and were lower for receptors at lower adaptational states. However, in the presence of dynamic adaptation, the response of kinase activity to a stimulus was sustained up to 45 °C, but sensitivity notably decreased. Thus, this molecular system exhibits a clear thermal sensitivity that emerges at the level of receptor trimers, but both receptor clustering and adaptation support the overall robust operation of the system at elevated temperatures.

Core unit of chemotaxis signaling complexes

Bacterial chemoreceptors, histidine kinase CheA, and coupling protein CheW form clusters of chemotaxis signaling complexes. In signaling complexes kinase activity is enhanced several hundredfold and placed under receptor control. Activation is necessary to poise enzyme activity such that receptor control has physiologically relevant effects. Thus kinase activation can be considered the underlying core activity of signaling complexes. We defined the minimal physical unit that generates this activity using chemoreceptor Tar from Escherichia coli rendered water soluble by insertion into nanodiscs to (i) measure saturable binding of CheA and CheW to the smallest kinase-activating groups of receptor dimers and (ii) purify and characterize core units of signaling complexes. Purified complexes activated kinase almost as well as signaling complexes formed on arrays of receptors in isolated native membrane. Purified complexes contained two receptor trimers of dimers and two CheW for each CheA dimer, consistent with the approximately 1:1 CheACheW ratio determined by binding measurements. The 2:2:1 stoichiometry implied that CheA dimers, the enzymatically active form, connect two chemoreceptor trimers of dimers by interaction of one CheA protomer and a CheW with each trimer, an organization for which specific molecular interactions have previously been identified. The core unit associates six receptor dimers with a CheA dimer, providing sufficient capacity to account for much of the cooperativity and interdimer influence observed experimentally. We conclude that the 221 organization is the core structural and functional unit of chemotaxis signaling complexes and postulate that hexagonal arrays characteristic of signaling complexes are built from this unit.

Noise filtering strategies in adaptive biochemical signaling networks: Application to E. coli chemotaxis

Two distinct mechanisms for filtering noise in an input signal are identified in a class of adaptive sensory networks. We find that the high-frequency noise is filtered by the output degradation process through time-averaging; while the low-frequency noise is damped by adaptation through negative feedback. Both filtering processes themselves introduce intrinsic noises, which are found to be unfiltered and can thus amount to a significant internal noise floor even without signaling. These results are applied to E. coli chemotaxis. We show unambiguously that the molecular mechanism for the Berg-Purcell time-averaging scheme is the dephosphorylation of the response regulator CheY-P, not the receptor adaptation process as previously suggested. The high-frequency noise due to the stochastic ligand binding-unbinding events and the random ligand molecule diffusion is averaged by the CheY-P dephosphorylation process to a negligible level in E. coli. We identify a previously unstudied noise source caused by the random motion of the cell in a ligand gradient. We show that this random walk induced signal noise has a divergent low-frequency component, which is only rendered finite by the receptor adaptation process. For gradients within the E. coli sensing range, this dominant external noise can be comparable to the significant intrinsic noise in the system. The dependence of the response and its fluctuations on the key time scales of the system are studied systematically. We show that the chemotaxis pathway may have evolved to optimize gradient sensing, strong response, and noise control in different time scales.

Biphasic control logic of HAMP domain signalling in the Escherichia coli serine chemoreceptor

HAMP domains mediate input-output communication in many bacterial signalling proteins. To explore the dynamic bundle model of HAMP signalling (Zhou et al., Mol. Microbiol. 73: 801, 2009), we characterized the signal outputs of 118 HAMP missense mutants of the serine chemoreceptor, Tsr, by flagellar rotation patterns. Receptors with proline or charged amino acid replacements at critical hydrophobic packing residues in the AS1 and AS2 HAMP helices had locked kinase-off outputs, indicating that drastic destabilization of the Tsr-HAMP bundle prevents kinase activation, both in the absence and presence of the sensory adaptation enzymes, CheB and CheR. Attractant-mimic lesions that enhance the structural stability of the HAMP bundle also suppressed kinase activity, demonstrating that Tsr-HAMP has two kinase-off output states at opposite extremes of its stability range. HAMP mutants with locked-on kinase outputs appeared to have intermediate bundle stabilities, implying a biphasic relationship between HAMP stability and kinase activity. Some Tsr-HAMP mutant receptors exhibited reversed output responses to CheB and CheR action that are readily explained by a biphasic control logic. The findings of this study provide strong support for a three-state dynamic bundle model of HAMP signalling in Tsr, and possibly in other bacterial transducers as well.

Cross-linking evidence for motional constraints within chemoreceptor trimers of dimers

Chemotactic behavior in bacteria relies on the sensing ability of large chemoreceptor clusters that are usually located at the cell pole. In Escherichia coli, chemoreceptors exhibit higher-order interactions within those clusters based on a trimer-of-dimers organization. This architecture is conserved in a variety of other bacteria and archaea, implying that receptors in many microorganisms form trimer-of-dimer signaling teams. To gain further insight into the assembly and dynamic behavior of receptor trimers of dimers, we used in vivo cross-linking targeted to cysteine residues at various positions that define six different levels along the cytoplasmic signaling domains of the aspartate and serine chemoreceptors, Tar and Tsr, respectively. We found that the cytoplasmic domains of these receptors are close to each other near the trimer contact region at the cytoplasmic tip and lie farther apart as the receptor dimers approach the cytoplasmic membrane. Tar and Tsr reporter sites within the same or closely adjacent levels readily formed mixed cross-links, whereas reporters located different distances from the tip did not. These findings indicate that there are no significant vertical displacements of one dimer with respect to the others within the trimer unit. Attractant stimuli had no discernible effect on the cross-linking efficiency of any of the reporters tested, but a strong osmotic stimulus reproducibly enhanced cross-linking at most of the reporter sites, indicating that individual dimers may move closer together under this condition.

Role of the HAMP domain region of sensory rhodopsin transducers in signal transduction

Archaea are able to sense light via the complexes of sensory rhodopsins I and II and their corresponding chemoreceptor-like transducers HtrI and HtrII. Though generation of the signal has been studied in detail, the mechanism of its propagation to the cytoplasm remains obscured. The cytoplasmic part of the transducer consists of adaptation and kinase activity modulating regions, connected to transmembrane helices via two HAMP (histidine kinases, adenylyl cyclases, methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins, phosphatases) domains. The inter-HAMP region of Natronomonas pharaonis HtrII (NpHtrII) was found to be α-helical [Hayashi, K., et al. (2007) Biochemistry 46, 14380-14390]. We studied the inter-HAMP regions of NpHtrII and other phototactic signal transducers by means of molecular dynamics. Their structure is found to be a bistable asymmetric coiled coil, in which the protomers are longitudinally shifted by ~1.3 Å. The free energy penalty for the symmetric structure is estimated to be 1.2-1.5 kcal/mol depending on the molarity of the solvent. Both flanking HAMP domains are mechanistically coupled to the inter-HAMP region and are asymmetric. The longitudinal shift in the inter-HAMP region is coupled with the in-plane displacement of the cytoplasmic part by 8.6 Å relative to the transmembrane part. The established properties suggest that (1) the signal may be transduced through the inter-HAMP domain switching and (2) the inter-HAMP region may allow cytoplasmic parts of the transducers to come sufficiently close to each other to form oligomers.

Chemotaxis kinase CheA is activated by three neighbouring chemoreceptor dimers as effectively as by receptor clusters

Chemoreceptors are central to bacterial chemotaxis. These transmembrane homodimers form trimers of dimers. Trimers form clusters of a few to thousands of receptors. A crucial receptor function is 100-fold activation, in signalling complexes, of sensory histidine kinase CheA. Significant activation has been shown to require more than one receptor dimer but the number required for full activation was unknown. We investigated this issue using Nanodiscs, soluble, nanoscale (∼10 nm diameter) plugs of lipid bilayer, to limit the number of neighbouring receptors contributing to activation. Utilizing size-exclusion chromatography, we separated primary preparations of receptor-containing Nanodiscs, otherwise heterogeneous for number and orientation of inserted receptors, into fractions enriched for specific numbers of dimers per disc. Fractionated, clarified Nanodiscs carrying approximately five dimers per disc were as effective in activating kinase as native membrane vesicles containing many neighbouring dimers. At five independently inserted dimers per disc, every disc would have at least three dimers oriented in parallel and thus able act together as they would in native membrane. We conclude full kinase activation involves interaction of CheA with groups of three receptor dimers, presumably as a trimer of dimers, and that more extensive interactions among receptors are not necessary for full kinase activation.

Chemoreceptors in signalling complexes: shifted conformation and asymmetric coupling

Bacterial chemotaxis is mediated by signalling complexes of chemoreceptors, histidine kinase CheA and coupling protein CheW. Interactions in complexes profoundly affect the kinase. We investigated effects of these interactions on chemoreceptors by comparing receptors alone and in complexes. Assays of initial rates of methylation indicated that signalling complexes shifted receptor conformation towards the methylation-on, higher-ligand-affinity, kinase-off state, tuning receptors for greater sensitivity. In contrast, transmembrane and conformational signalling within chemoreceptors was essentially unaltered, consistent with other evidence identifying receptor dimers as the fundamental units of such signalling. In signalling complexes, coupling of ligand binding to kinase activity is cooperative and the dynamic range of kinase control expanded > 100-fold by receptor adaptational modification. We observed no cooperativity in influence of ligand on receptor conformation, only on kinase activity. However, receptor modification generated increased dynamic range in a stepwise fashion, partly in coupling ligand to receptor conformation and partly in coupling receptor conformation to kinase activity. Thus, receptors and kinase were not equivalently affected by interactions in signalling complexes or by ligand binding and adaptational modification, indicating asymmetrical coupling between them. This has implications for mechanisms of precise adaptation. Coupling might vary, providing a previously unappreciated locus for sensory control.

Disruption of chemoreceptor signalling arrays by high levels of CheW, the receptor-kinase coupling protein

During chemotactic signalling by Escherichia coli, the small cytoplasmic CheW protein couples the histidine kinase CheA to chemoreceptor control. Although essential for assembly and operation of receptor signalling complexes, CheW in stoichiometric excess disrupts chemotactic behaviour. To explore the mechanism of the CheW excess effect, we measured the physiological consequences of high cellular levels of wild-type CheW and of several CheW variants with reduced or enhanced binding affinities for receptor molecules. We found that high levels of CheW interfered with trimer assembly, prevented CheA activation, blocked cluster formation, disrupted chemotactic ability and elevated receptor methylation levels. The severity of these effects paralleled the receptor-binding affinities of the CheW variants. Because trimer formation may be an obligate step in the assembly of ternary signalling complexes and higher-order receptor arrays, we suggest that all CheW excess effects stem from disruption of trimer assembly. We propose that the CheW-binding sites in receptor dimers overlap their trimer contact sites and that high levels of CheW saturate the receptor-binding sites, preventing trimer assembly. The CheW-trapped receptor dimers seem to be improved substrates for methyltransferase reactions, but cannot activate CheA or assemble into clusters, processes that are essential for chemotactic signalling.

Specificity of localization and phosphotransfer in the CheA proteins of Rhodobacter sphaeroides

Specificity of protein-protein interactions plays a vital role in signal transduction. The chemosensory pathway of Rhodobacter sphaeroides comprises multiple homologues of chemotaxis proteins characterized in organisms such as Escherichia coli. Three CheA homologues are essential for chemotaxis in R. sphaeroides under laboratory conditions. These CheAs are differentially localized to two chemosensory clusters, one at the cell pole and one in the cytoplasm. The polar CheA, CheA(2), has the same domain structure as E. coli CheA and can phosphorylate all R. sphaeroides chemotaxis response regulators. CheA(3) and CheA(4) independently localize to the cytoplasmic cluster; each protein has a subset of the CheA domains, with CheA(3) phosphorylating CheA(4) together making a functional CheA protein. Interestingly, CheA(3)-P can only phosphorylate two response regulators, CheY(6) and CheB(2). R. sphaeroides CheAs exhibit two interesting differences in specificity: (i) the response regulators that they phosphorylate and (ii) the chemosensory cluster to which they localize. Using a domain-swapping approach we investigated the role of the P1 and P5 CheA domains in determining these specificities. We show that the P1 domain is sufficient to determine which response regulators will be phosphorylated in vitro while the P5 domain is sufficient to localize the CheAs to a specific chemosensory cluster.

Spatial organization in bacterial chemotaxis

Spatial organization of signalling is not an exclusive property of eukaryotic cells. Despite the fact that bacterial signalling pathways are generally simpler than those in eukaryotes, there are several well-documented examples of higher-order intracellular signalling structures in bacteria. One of the most prominent and best-characterized structures is formed by proteins that control bacterial chemotaxis. Signals in chemotaxis are processed by ordered arrays, or clusters, of receptors and associated proteins, which amplify and integrate chemotactic stimuli in a highly cooperative manner. Receptor clusters further serve to scaffold protein interactions, enhancing the efficiency and specificity of the pathway reactions and preventing the formation of signalling gradients through the cell body. Moreover, clustering can also ensure spatial separation of multiple chemotaxis systems in one bacterium. Assembly of receptor clusters appears to be a stochastic process, but bacteria evolved mechanisms to ensure optimal cluster distribution along the cell body for partitioning to daughter cells at division.

Site-specific methylation in Bacillus subtilis chemotaxis: effect of covalent modifications to the chemotaxis receptor McpB

The Bacillus subtilis chemotaxis pathway employs a receptor methylation system that functions differently from the one in the canonical Escherichia coli pathway. Previously, we hypothesized that B. subtilis employs a site-specific methylation system for adaptation where methyl groups are added and removed at different sites. This study investigated how covalent modifications to the adaptation region of the chemotaxis receptor McpB altered its apparent affinity for its cognate ligand, asparagine, and also its ability to activate the CheA kinase. This receptor has three closely spaced adaptation sites located at residues Gln371, Glu630 and Glu637. We found that amidation, a putative methylation mimic, of site 371 increased the receptor's apparent affinity for asparagine and its ability to activate the CheA kinase. Conversely, amidation of sites 630 and 637 reduced the receptor's ability to activate the kinase but did not affect the apparent affinity for asparagine, suggesting that activity and sensitivity are independently controlled in B. subtilis. We also examined how electrostatic interactions may underlie this behaviour, using homology models. These findings further our understanding of the site-specific methylation system in B. subtilis by demonstrating how the modification of specific sites can have varying effects on receptor function.

Sensing of environmental signals: classification of chemoreceptors according to the size of their ligand binding regions

Central to the different forms of taxis are methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs). The increasing number of genome sequences reveals that MCPs differ enormously in sequence, topology and genomic abundance. This work is a one-by-one bioinformatic analysis of the almost-totality of MCP genes available and a classification of motile bacteria according to their lifestyle. On average, motile archaea have 6.7 MCP genes per genome whereas motile bacteria have more than twice as much. We show that the number of MCPs per genome depends on bacterial lifestyle and metabolic diversity, but weakly on genome size. Signal perception at an MCP occurs at the N-terminal ligand binding region (LBR). Here we show that around 88% of MCPs possess an LBR that remains un-annotated in SMART. MCPs can be classified into two clusters according to the size of the LBR. Cluster I receptors have an LBR between 120 and 210 amino acids whereas cluster II receptors have larger LBRs of 220-299 amino acids. There is evidence that suggests that some cluster II LBRs are composed of two cluster I LBRs. Further evidence indicates that other cluster II LBRs might harbour novel sensor domains. Cluster II receptors are dominant in archaea whereas cluster I receptors are prevalent in bacteria. MCPs can be classified into six different receptor topologies and this work contains a first estimation of the relative abundance of different receptor topologies in bacteria and archaea. Topologies involving extracytoplasmic sensing are prevalent in bacteria whereas topologies with cytosolic signal recognition are abundant in archaea.

Biogenesis of bacterial inner-membrane proteins

All cells must traffic proteins into and across their membranes. In bacteria, several pathways have evolved to enable protein transfer across the inner membrane, the periplasm, and the outer membrane. The major route of protein translocation in and across the cytoplasmic membrane is the general secretion pathway (Sec-pathway). The biogenesis of membrane proteins not only requires protein translocation but also coordinated targeting to the membrane beforehand and folding and assembly into their protein complexes afterwards to function properly in the cell. All these processes are responsible for the biogenesis of membrane proteins that mediate essential functions of the cell such as selective transport, energy conversion, cell division, extracellular signal sensing, and motility. This review will highlight the most recent developments on the structure and function of bacterial membrane proteins, focusing on the journey that integral membrane proteins take to find their final destination in the inner membrane.

Electron cryotomography

Electron cryotomography (ECT) is an emerging technology that allows thin samples such as macromolecular complexes and small bacterial cells to be imaged in 3-D in a nearly native state to "molecular" ( approximately 4 nm) resolution. As such, ECT is beginning to deliver long-awaited insight into the positions and structures of cytoskeletal fi laments, cell wall elements, motility machines, chemoreceptor arrays, internal compartments, and other ultrastructures. This article describes the technique and summarizes its contributions to bacterial cell biology. For comparable recent reviews, see (Subramaniam 2005; Jensen and Briegel 2007; Murphy and Jensen 2007; Li and Jensen 2009). For reviews on the history, technical details, and broader application of electron tomography in general, see for example (Subramaniam and Milne 2004; Lucić et al. 2005; Leis et al. 2008; Midgley and Dunin-Borkowski 2009).

Structure of the ternary complex formed by a chemotaxis receptor signaling domain, the CheA histidine kinase, and the coupling protein CheW as determined by pulsed dipolar ESR spectroscopy

The signaling apparatus that controls bacterial chemotaxis is composed of a core complex containing chemoreceptors, the histidine autokinase CheA, and the coupling protein CheW. Site-specific spin labeling and pulsed dipolar ESR spectroscopy (PDS) have been applied to investigate the structure of a soluble ternary complex formed by Thermotoga maritima CheA (TmCheA), CheW, and receptor signaling domains. Thirty-five symmetric spin-label sites (SLSs) were engineered into the five domains of the CheA dimer and CheW to provide distance restraints within the CheA:CheW complex in the absence and presence of a soluble receptor that inhibits kinase activity (Tm14). Additional PDS restraints among spin-labeled CheA, CheW, and an engineered single-chain receptor labeled at six different sites allow docking of the receptor structure relative to the CheA:CheW complex. Disulfide cross-linking between selectively incorporated Cys residues finds two pairs of positions that provide further constraints within the ternary complex: one involving Tm14 and CheW and another involving Tm14 and CheA. The derived structure of the ternary complex indicates a primary site of interaction between CheW and Tm14 that agrees well with previous biochemical and genetic data for transmembrane chemoreceptors. The PDS distance distributions are most consistent with only one CheW directly engaging one dimeric Tm14. The CheA dimerization domain (P3) aligns roughly antiparallel to the receptor-conserved signaling tip but does not interact strongly with it. The angle of the receptor axis with respect to P3 and the CheW-binding P5 domains is bound by two limits differing by approximately 20 degrees . In one limit, Tm14 aligns roughly along P3 and may interact to some extent with the hinge region near the P3 hairpin loop. In the other limit, Tm14 tilts to interact with the P5 domain of the opposite subunit in an interface that mimics that observed with the P5 homologue CheW. The time domain ESR data can be simulated from the model only if orientational variability is introduced for the P5 and, especially, P3 domains. The Tm14 tip also binds beside one of the CheA kinase domains (P4); however, in both bound and unbound states, P4 samples a broad range of distributions that are only minimally affected by Tm14 binding. The CheA P1 domains that contain the substrate histidine are also broadly distributed in space under all conditions. In the context of the hexagonal lattice formed by trimeric transmembrane chemoreceptors, the PDS structure is best accommodated with the P3 domain in the center of a honeycomb edge.

An MCP-like protein interacts with the MamK cytoskeleton and is involved in magnetotaxis in Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1

Magnetotactic bacteria have the unique capacity of aligning and swimming along geomagnetic field lines, a behavior called magnetotaxis. Although this behavior has been observed for 40 years, little is known about its mechanism. Magnetotactic bacteria synthesize unique organelles, magnetosomes, which are magnetic crystals enveloped by membrane. They form chains with the help of the filamentous cytoskeletal protein MamK and impart a net magnetic-dipole moment to the bacterium. The current model proposes that magnetotaxis comprises passive magnetic orientation and active swimming due to flagellar rotation. We thought that magnetic sensing, via the widely used chemotaxis mechanism, might be actively involved in magnetotaxis. We found that the methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein Amb0994 of Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 was capable of carrying out such a function. Amb0994 is encoded by a gene in the magnetosome island, in which genes essential for magnetosome biosynthesis and magnetotaxis are concentrated. Amb0994 lacks periplasmic sensing domain, which is generally involved in sensing stimuli from outside of cells. By constructing fusions with a derivative of yellow-fluorescent-protein, we showed that Amb0994 localizes to the cell poles, where methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins are usually clustered. We then showed that Amb0994 specifically interacts, via its C-terminal domain, with MamK, using a bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay. Moreover, overproduction of Amb0994 slowed down the response of the bacterium to changes in the direction of the magnetic field. Most importantly, the C-terminal domain of Amb0994, which interacts with MamK, is responsible for this phenotype, suggesting that the interaction between Amb0994 and MamK plays a key role in magnetotaxis. These results lead to a novel explanation for magnetotaxis at the molecular level.

An agent-based model of signal transduction in bacterial chemotaxis

We report the application of agent-based modeling to examine the signal transduction network and receptor arrays for chemotaxis in Escherichia coli, which are responsible for regulating swimming behavior in response to environmental stimuli. Agent-based modeling is a stochastic and bottom-up approach, where individual components of the modeled system are explicitly represented, and bulk properties emerge from their movement and interactions. We present the Chemoscape model: a collection of agents representing both fixed membrane-embedded and mobile cytoplasmic proteins, each governed by a set of rules representing knowledge or hypotheses about their function. When the agents were placed in a simulated cellular space and then allowed to move and interact stochastically, the model exhibited many properties similar to the biological system including adaptation, high signal gain, and wide dynamic range. We found the agent based modeling approach to be both powerful and intuitive for testing hypotheses about biological properties such as self-assembly, the non-linear dynamics that occur through cooperative protein interactions, and non-uniform distributions of proteins in the cell. We applied the model to explore the role of receptor type, geometry and cooperativity in the signal gain and dynamic range of the chemotactic response to environmental stimuli. The model provided substantial qualitative evidence that the dynamic range of chemotactic response can be traced to both the heterogeneity of receptor types present, and the modulation of their cooperativity by their methylation state.

Mobility of cytoplasmic, membrane, and DNA-binding proteins in Escherichia coli

Protein mobility affects most cellular processes, such as the rates of enzymatic reactions, signal transduction, and assembly of macromolecular complexes. Despite such importance, little systematic information is available about protein diffusion inside bacterial cells. Here we combined fluorescence recovery after photobleaching with numerical modeling to analyze mobility of a set of fluorescent protein fusions in the bacterial cytoplasm, the plasma membrane, and in the nucleoid. Estimated diffusion coefficients of cytoplasmic and membrane proteins show steep dependence on the size and on the number of transmembrane helices, respectively. Protein diffusion in both compartments is thus apparently obstructed by a network of obstacles, creating the so-called molecular sieving effect. These obstructing networks themselves, however, appear to be dynamic and allow a slow and nearly size-independent movement of large proteins and complexes. The obtained dependencies of protein mobility on the molecular mass and the number of transmembrane helices can be used as a reference to predict diffusion rates of proteins in Escherichia coli. Mobility of DNA-binding proteins apparently mainly depends on their binding specificity, with FRAP recovery kinetics being slower for the highly specific TetR repressor than for the relatively nonspecific H-NS regulator.

Phototactic and chemotactic signal transduction by transmembrane receptors and transducers in microorganisms

Microorganisms show attractant and repellent responses to survive in the various environments in which they live. Those phototaxic (to light) and chemotaxic (to chemicals) responses are regulated by membrane-embedded receptors and transducers. This article reviews the following: (1) the signal relay mechanisms by two photoreceptors, Sensory Rhodopsin I (SRI) and Sensory Rhodopsin II (SRII) and their transducers (HtrI and HtrII) responsible for phototaxis in microorganisms; and (2) the signal relay mechanism of a chemoreceptor/transducer protein, Tar, responsible for chemotaxis in E. coli. Based on results mainly obtained by our group together with other findings, the possible molecular mechanisms for phototaxis and chemotaxis are discussed.

Kinase-active signaling complexes of bacterial chemoreceptors do not contain proposed receptor-receptor contacts observed in crystal structures

The receptor dimers that mediate bacterial chemotaxis form high-order signaling complexes with CheW and the kinase CheA. From the packing arrangement in two crystal structures of different receptor cytoplasmic fragments, two different models have been proposed for receptor signaling arrays: the trimers-of-dimers and hedgerow models. Here we identified an interdimer distance that differs substantially in the two models, labeled the atoms defining this distance through isotopic enrichment, and measured it with (19)F-(13)C REDOR. This was done in two types of receptor samples: isolated bacterial membranes containing overexpressed, intact receptor and soluble receptor fragments reconstituted into kinase-active signaling complexes. In both cases, the distance found was not compatible with the receptor dimer-dimer contacts observed in the trimers-of-dimers or in the hedgerow models. Comparisons of simulated and observed REDOR dephasing were used to deduce a closest approach distance at this interface, which provides a constraint for the possible arrangements of receptor assemblies.

Bacterial chemoreceptors: providing enhanced features to two-component signaling

Bacteria perform chemotaxis utilizing core two-component signaling systems to which have been added enhanced features of signal amplification, sensory adaptation, molecular memory and high sensitivity over a wide dynamic range. Chemoreceptors are central to the enhancements. These transmembrane homodimers associate in trimers and in clusters of signaling complexes containing from a few to thousands of receptors. Receptor homodimers couple ligand occupancy and adaptational modification to transmembrane signaling. Trimers activate and control the histidine kinase. Clusters enable signal amplification, high sensitivity and adaptational assistance. Homodimer signaling initiates with helical piston sliding that is converted to modulation of competing packing modes of adjacent segments of an extended helical coiled coil. In trimers, signaling and coupling may involve switching between compact and expanded forms.

The chemoreceptor dimer is the unit of conformational coupling and transmembrane signaling

Transmembrane chemoreceptors are central components in bacterial chemotaxis. Receptors couple ligand binding and adaptational modification to receptor conformation in processes that create transmembrane signaling. Homodimers, the fundamental receptor structural units, associate in trimers and localize in patches of thousands. To what degree do conformational coupling and transmembrane signaling require higher-order interactions among dimers? To what degree are they altered by such interactions? To what degree are they inherent features of homodimers? We addressed these questions using nanodiscs to create membrane environments in which receptor dimers had few or no potential interaction partners. Receptors with many, few, or no interaction partners were tested for conformational changes and transmembrane signaling in response to ligand occupancy and adaptational modification. Conformation was assayed by measuring initial rates of receptor methylation, a parameter independent of receptor-receptor interactions. Coupling of ligand occupancy and adaptational modification to receptor conformation and thus to transmembrane signaling occurred with essentially the same sensitivity and magnitude in isolated dimers as for dimers with many neighbors. Thus, we conclude that the chemoreceptor dimer is the fundamental unit of conformational coupling and transmembrane signaling. This implies that in signaling complexes, coupling and transmembrane signaling occur through individual dimers and that changes between dimers in a receptor trimer or among trimer-based signaling complexes are subsequent steps in signaling.

Why and how bacteria localize proteins

Despite their small size, bacteria have a remarkably intricate internal organization. Bacteria deploy proteins and protein complexes to particular locations and do so in a dynamic manner in lockstep with the organized deployment of their chromosome. The dynamic subcellular localization of protein complexes is an integral feature of regulatory processes of bacterial cells.

Identification and characterization of the aspartate chemosensory receptor of Campylobacter jejuni

Campylobacter jejuni is a highly motile bacterium that responds via chemotaxis to environmental stimuli to migrate towards favourable conditions. Previous in silico analysis of the C. jejuni strain NCTC11168 genome sequence identified 10 open reading frames, tlp1-10, that encode putative chemosensory receptors. We describe the characterization of the role and specificity of the Tlp1 chemoreceptor (Cj1506c). In vitro and in vivo models were used to determine if Tlp1 had a role in host colonization. The tlp1(-) isogenic mutant was more adherent in cell culture, however, showed reduced colonization ability in chickens. Specific interactions between the purified sensory domain of Tlp1 and l-aspartate were identified using an amino acid array and saturation transfer difference nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Chemotaxis assays showed differences between migration of wild-type C. jejuni cells and that of a tlp1(-) isogenic mutant, specifically towards aspartate. Furthermore, using yeast two-hybrid and three-hybrid systems for analysis of protein-protein interactions, the cytoplasmic signalling domain of Tlp1 was found to preferentially interact with CheV, rather than the CheW homologue of the chemotaxis signalling pathway; this interaction was confirmed using immune precipitation assays. This is the first identification of an aspartate receptor in bacteria other than Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.