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Matthews-Palmer TRS, Gonzalez-Rodriguez N, Calcraft T, Lagercrantz S, Zachs T, Yu XJ, Grabe GJ, Holden DW, Nans A, Rosenthal PB, Rouse SL, Beeby M. Structure of the cytoplasmic domain of SctV (SsaV) from the Salmonella SPI-2 injectisome and implications for a pH sensing mechanism. J Struct Biol 2021; 213:107729. [PMID: 33774138 PMCID: PMC8223533 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2021.107729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
CryoEM of a full-length type III secretion system SctV resolves cytoplasmic but not transmembrane domains. MD simulations show SctV protomers flexibly hinge. Acidification expands the SctV ring by altering interprotomer interactions.
Bacterial type III secretion systems assemble the axial structures of both injectisomes and flagella. Injectisome type III secretion systems subsequently secrete effector proteins through their hollow needle into a host, requiring co-ordination. In the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium SPI-2 injectisome, this switch is triggered by sensing the neutral pH of the host cytoplasm. Central to specificity switching is a nonameric SctV protein with an N-terminal transmembrane domain and a toroidal C-terminal cytoplasmic domain. A ‘gatekeeper’ complex interacts with the SctV cytoplasmic domain in a pH dependent manner, facilitating translocon secretion while repressing effector secretion through a poorly understood mechanism. To better understand the role of SctV in SPI-2 translocon-effector specificity switching, we purified full-length SctV and determined its toroidal cytoplasmic region’s structure using cryo-EM. Structural comparisons and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the cytoplasmic torus is stabilized by its core subdomain 3, about which subdomains 2 and 4 hinge, varying the flexible outside cleft implicated in gatekeeper and substrate binding. In light of patterns of surface conservation, deprotonation, and structural motion, the location of previously identified critical residues suggest that gatekeeper binds a cleft buried between neighboring subdomain 4s. Simulations suggest that a local pH change from 5 to 7.2 stabilizes the subdomain 3 hinge and narrows the central aperture of the nonameric torus. Our results are consistent with a model of local pH sensing at SctV, where pH-dependent dynamics of SctV cytoplasmic domain affect binding of gatekeeper complex.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thomas Calcraft
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom; Structural Biology of Cells and Viruses Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Signe Lagercrantz
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Tobias Zachs
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Xiu-Jun Yu
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Grzegorz J Grabe
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - David W Holden
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Nans
- Structural Biology of Cells and Viruses Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Peter B Rosenthal
- Structural Biology of Cells and Viruses Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah L Rouse
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
| | - Morgan Beeby
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
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The substrate specificity switch FlhB assembles onto the export gate to regulate type three secretion. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1296. [PMID: 32157081 PMCID: PMC7064499 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15071-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein secretion through type-three secretion systems (T3SS) is critical for motility and virulence of many bacteria. Proteins are transported through an export gate containing three proteins (FliPQR in flagella, SctRST in virulence systems). A fourth essential T3SS protein (FlhB/SctU) functions to “switch” secretion substrate specificity once the growing hook/needle reach their determined length. Here, we present the cryo-electron microscopy structure of an export gate containing the switch protein from a Vibrio flagellar system at 3.2 Å resolution. The structure reveals that FlhB/SctU extends the helical export gate with its four predicted transmembrane helices wrapped around FliPQR/SctRST. The unusual topology of the FlhB/SctU helices creates a loop wrapped around the bottom of the closed export gate. Structure-informed mutagenesis suggests that this loop is critical in gating secretion and we propose that a series of conformational changes in the T3SS trigger opening of the gate through interactions between FlhB/SctU and FliPQR/SctRST. Export of proteins by type three secretion systems occurs through an export gate that is localized in the periplasm. Here, the authors present the cryo-EM structure of the Vibrio mimicus export gate complex with FlhB, which plays a major role in switching of the specificity of secretion substrates and propose a mechanism for export gate opening.
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High-resolution view of the type III secretion export apparatus in situ reveals membrane remodeling and a secretion pathway. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:24786-24795. [PMID: 31744874 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1916331116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Type III protein secretion systems are essential virulence factors for many important pathogenic bacteria. The entire protein secretion machine is composed of several substructures that organize into a holostructure or injectisome. The core component of the injectisome is the needle complex, which houses the export apparatus that serves as a gate for the passage of the secreted proteins through the bacterial inner membrane. Here, we describe a high-resolution structure of the export apparatus of the Salmonella type III secretion system in association with the needle complex and the underlying bacterial membrane, both in isolation and in situ. We show the precise location of the core export apparatus components within the injectisome and bacterial envelope and demonstrate that their deployment results in major membrane remodeling and thinning, which may be central for the protein translocation process. We also show that InvA, a critical export apparatus component, forms a multiring cytoplasmic conduit that provides a pathway for the type III secretion substrates to reach the entrance of the export gate. Combined with structure-guided mutagenesis, our studies provide major insight into potential mechanisms of protein translocation and injectisome assembly.
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Tseytin I, Mitrovic B, David N, Langenfeld K, Zarivach R, Diepold A, Sal-Man N. The Role of the Small Export Apparatus Protein, SctS, in the Activity of the Type III Secretion System. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2551. [PMID: 31798543 PMCID: PMC6863770 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Many gram-negative pathogens utilize a protein complex, termed the type III secretion system (T3SS), to inject virulence factors from their cytoplasm directly into the host cell. An export apparatus that is formed by five putative integral membrane proteins (SctR/S/T/U/V), resides at the center of the T3SS complex. In this study, we characterized the smallest export apparatus protein, SctS, which contains two putative transmembrane domains (PTMD) that dynamically extract from the inner membrane and adopt a helix-turn-helix structure upon assembly of the T3SS. Replacement of each SctS PTMD with an alternative hydrophobic sequence resulted in abolishment of the T3SS activity, yet SctS self- and hetero-interactions as well as the overall assembly of the T3SS complex were unaffected. Our findings suggest that SctS PTMDs are not crucial for the interactions or the assembly of the T3SS base complex but rather that they are involved in adjusting the orientation of the export apparatus relative to additional T3SS sub-structures, such as the cytoplasmic- and the inner-membrane rings. This ensures the fittings between the dynamic and static components of the T3SS and supports the functionality of the T3SS complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irit Tseytin
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - Bosko Mitrovic
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - Nofar David
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - Katja Langenfeld
- Department of Ecophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Raz Zarivach
- Department of Life Sciences and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - Andreas Diepold
- Department of Ecophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Neta Sal-Man
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
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Kuhlen L, Abrusci P, Johnson S, Gault J, Deme J, Caesar J, Dietsche T, Mebrhatu MT, Ganief T, Macek B, Wagner S, Robinson CV, Lea SM. Structure of the core of the type III secretion system export apparatus. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2018; 25:583-590. [PMID: 29967543 PMCID: PMC6233869 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-018-0086-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Export of proteins through type III secretion systems is critical for motility and virulence of many major bacterial pathogens. Three putative integral membrane proteins (FliP, FliQ, FliR) are suggested to form the core of an export gate in the inner membrane, but their structure, assembly and location within the final nanomachine remain unclear. Here, we present the cryoelectron microscopy structure of the Salmonella Typhimurium FliP-FliQ-FliR complex at 4.2 Å. None of the subunits adopt canonical integral membrane protein topologies, and common helix-turn-helix structural elements allow them to form a helical assembly with 5:4:1 stoichiometry. Fitting of the structure into reconstructions of intact secretion systems, combined with cross-linking, localize the export gate as a core component of the periplasmic portion of the machinery. This study thereby identifies the export gate as a key element of the secretion channel and implies that it primes the helical architecture of the components assembling downstream.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Kuhlen
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Patrizia Abrusci
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Steven Johnson
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Joseph Gault
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Justin Deme
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Central Oxford Structural Microscopy and Imaging Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Joseph Caesar
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Central Oxford Structural Microscopy and Imaging Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Tobias Dietsche
- Section of Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine (IMIT), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mehari Tesfazgi Mebrhatu
- Section of Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine (IMIT), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tariq Ganief
- Proteome Center Tübingen, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Boris Macek
- Proteome Center Tübingen, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Samuel Wagner
- Section of Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine (IMIT), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, Partner-site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Susan M Lea
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Central Oxford Structural Microscopy and Imaging Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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dos Santos RN, Khan S, Morcos F. Characterization of C-ring component assembly in flagellar motors from amino acid coevolution. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171854. [PMID: 29892378 PMCID: PMC5990795 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial flagellar motility, an important virulence factor, is energized by a rotary motor localized within the flagellar basal body. The rotor module consists of a large framework (the C-ring), composed of the FliG, FliM and FliN proteins. FliN and FliM contacts the FliG torque ring to control the direction of flagellar rotation. We report that structure-based models constrained only by residue coevolution can recover the binding interface of atomic X-ray dimer complexes with remarkable accuracy (approx. 1 Å RMSD). We propose a model for FliM-FliN heterodimerization, which agrees accurately with homologous interfaces as well as in situ cross-linking experiments, and hence supports a proposed architecture for the lower portion of the C-ring. Furthermore, this approach allowed the identification of two discrete and interchangeable homodimerization interfaces between FliM middle domains that agree with experimental measurements and might be associated with C-ring directional switching dynamics triggered upon binding of CheY signal protein. Our findings provide structural details of complex formation at the C-ring that have been difficult to obtain with previous methodologies and clarify the architectural principle that underpins the ultra-sensitive allostery exhibited by this ring assembly that controls the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of flagella.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Nascimento dos Santos
- Institute of Chemistry and Center for Computational Engineering and Science, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Shahid Khan
- Molecular Biology Consortium, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Faruck Morcos
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
- Center for Systems Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
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Taylor WR. Algorithms for matching partially labelled sequence graphs. Algorithms Mol Biol 2017; 12:24. [PMID: 29021818 PMCID: PMC5613400 DOI: 10.1186/s13015-017-0115-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 09/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In order to find correlated pairs of positions between proteins, which are useful in predicting interactions, it is necessary to concatenate two large multiple sequence alignments such that the sequences that are joined together belong to those that interact in their species of origin. When each protein is unique then the species name is sufficient to guide this match, however, when there are multiple related sequences (paralogs) in each species then the pairing is more difficult. In bacteria a good guide can be gained from genome co-location as interacting proteins tend to be in a common operon but in eukaryotes this simple principle is not sufficient. RESULTS The methods developed in this paper take sets of paralogs for different proteins found in the same species and make a pairing based on their evolutionary distance relative to a set of other proteins that are unique and so have a known relationship (singletons). The former constitute a set of unlabelled nodes in a graph while the latter are labelled. Two variants were tested, one based on a phylogenetic tree of the sequences (the topology-based method) and a simpler, faster variant based only on the inter-sequence distances (the distance-based method). Over a set of test proteins, both gave good results, with the topology method performing slightly better. CONCLUSIONS The methods develop here still need refinement and augmentation from constraints other than the sequence data alone, such as known interactions from annotation and databases, or non-trivial relationships in genome location. With the ever growing numbers of eukaryotic genomes, it is hoped that the methods described here will open a route to the use of these data equal to the current success attained with bacterial sequences.
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Taylor WR. SimGen: A General Simulation Method for Large Systems. J Mol Biol 2017; 429:408-415. [PMID: 27771481 PMCID: PMC5282398 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2016.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Revised: 09/28/2016] [Accepted: 10/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
SimGen is a stand-alone computer program that reads a script of commands to represent complex macromolecules, including proteins and nucleic acids, in a structural hierarchy that can then be viewed using an integral graphical viewer or animated through a high-level application programming interface in C++. Structural levels in the hierarchy range from α-carbon or phosphate backbones through secondary structure to domains, molecules, and multimers with each level represented in an identical data structure that can be manipulated using the application programming interface. Unlike most coarse-grained simulation approaches, the higher-level objects represented in SimGen can be soft, allowing the lower-level objects that they contain to interact directly. The default motion simulated by SimGen is a Brownian-like diffusion that can be set to occur across all levels of representation in the hierarchy. Links can also be defined between objects, which, when combined with large high-level random movements, result in an effective search strategy for constraint satisfaction, including structure prediction from predicted pairwise distances. The implementation of SimGen makes use of the hierarchic data structure to avoid unnecessary calculation, especially for collision detection, allowing it to be simultaneously run and viewed on a laptop computer while simulating large systems of over 20,000 objects. It has been used previously to model complex molecular interactions including the motion of a myosin-V dimer "walking" on an actin fibre, RNA stem-loop packing, and the simulation of cell motion and aggregation. Several extensions to this original functionality are described.
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