scholarly journals The structural basis of bacterial manganese import

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (32) ◽  
pp. eabg3980
Author(s):  
Stephanie L. Neville ◽  
Jennie Sjöhamn ◽  
Jacinta A. Watts ◽  
Hugo MacDermott-Opeskin ◽  
Stephen J. Fairweather ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Abc Transporters ◽  
Cation Transport ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Water Permeation ◽  
Coordination Site ◽  
Transmembrane Channel ◽  
Manganese Uptake ◽  
Site Mutagenesis

Metal ions are essential for all forms of life. In prokaryotes, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) permeases serve as the primary import pathway for many micronutrients including the first-row transition metal manganese. However, the structural features of ionic metal transporting ABC permeases have remained undefined. Here, we present the crystal structure of the manganese transporter PsaBC from Streptococcus pneumoniae in an open-inward conformation. The type II transporter has a tightly closed transmembrane channel due to “extracellular gating” residues that prevent water permeation or ion reflux. Below these residues, the channel contains a hitherto unreported metal coordination site, which is essential for manganese translocation. Mutagenesis of the extracellular gate perturbs manganese uptake, while coordination site mutagenesis abolishes import. These structural features are highly conserved in metal-specific ABC transporters and are represented throughout the kingdoms of life. Collectively, our results define the structure of PsaBC and reveal the features required for divalent cation transport.

Comparative surface and ultrastructural views of methylotrophic bacteria by TEM, STEM, SE, and freeze-etch electron microscopy.

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 792-793
Author(s):  
T.A. Fassel ◽  
M.J. Schaller ◽  
M.E. Lidstrom ◽  
C.C. Remsen
Keyword(s):  
Cytoplasmic Membrane ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Methylotrophic Bacteria ◽  
Type I ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Membrane Complex ◽  
Oxidation Of Methane ◽  
Methane Oxidizing Bacteria ◽  
Wall Structures ◽  
Methylomonas Albus

Methylotrophic bacteria play an Important role in the environment in the oxidation of methane and methanol. Extensive intracytoplasmic membranes (ICM) have been associated with the oxidation processes in methylotrophs and chemolithotrophic bacteria. Classification on the basis of ICM arrangement distinguishes 2 types of methylotrophs. Bundles or vesicular stacks of ICM located away from the cytoplasmic membrane and extending into the cytoplasm are present in Type I methylotrophs. In Type II methylotrophs, the ICM form pairs of peripheral membranes located parallel to the cytoplasmic membrane. Complex cell wall structures of tightly packed cup-shaped subunits have been described in strains of marine and freshwater phototrophic sulfur bacteria and several strains of methane oxidizing bacteria. We examined the ultrastructure of the methylotrophs with particular view of the ICM and surface structural features, between representatives of the Type I Methylomonas albus (BG8), and Type II Methylosinus trichosporium (OB-36).

scholarly journals Polarization Effects in Water-Mediated Selective Cation Transport across a Narrow Transmembrane Channel

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 1726-1741
Author(s):  
Van Ngo ◽  
Hui Li ◽  
Alexander D. MacKerell ◽  
Toby W. Allen ◽  
Benoît Roux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cation Transport ◽  
Polarization Effects ◽  
Transmembrane Channel

scholarly journals Structural basis for ALK2/BMPR2 receptor complex signaling through kinase domain oligomerization

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Agnew ◽  
Pelin Ayaz ◽  
Risa Kashima ◽  
Hanna S. Loving ◽  
Prajakta Ghatpande ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Md Simulations ◽  
Kinase Domain ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Type I ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Exchange Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Receptor Complexes ◽  
Bmp Receptors ◽  
Morphogenetic Protein ◽  
Smad Proteins

AbstractUpon ligand binding, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) receptors form active tetrameric complexes, comprised of two type I and two type II receptors, which then transmit signals to SMAD proteins. The link between receptor tetramerization and the mechanism of kinase activation, however, has not been elucidated. Here, using hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, combined with analysis of SMAD signaling, we show that the kinase domain of the type I receptor ALK2 and type II receptor BMPR2 form a heterodimeric complex via their C-terminal lobes. Formation of this dimer is essential for ligand-induced receptor signaling and is targeted by mutations in BMPR2 in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We further show that the type I/type II kinase domain heterodimer serves as the scaffold for assembly of the active tetrameric receptor complexes to enable phosphorylation of the GS domain and activation of SMADs.

scholarly journals Structural basis for distinct inflammasome complex assembly by human NLRP1 and CARD8

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Gong ◽  
Kim Robinson ◽  
Chenrui Xu ◽  
Phuong Thao Huynh ◽  
Kelvin Han Chung Chong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Inflammatory Diseases ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Cultured Human Cells ◽  
Structural Insight ◽  
Sensor Proteins ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractNod-like receptor (NLR) proteins activate pyroptotic cell death and IL-1 driven inflammation by assembling and activating the inflammasome complex. Closely related sensor proteins NLRP1 and CARD8 undergo unique auto-proteolysis-dependent activation and are implicated in auto-inflammatory diseases; however, their mechanisms of activation are not understood. Here we report the structural basis of how the activating domains (FIINDUPA-CARD) of NLRP1 and CARD8 self-oligomerize to assemble distinct inflammasome complexes. Recombinant FIINDUPA-CARD of NLRP1 forms a two-layered filament, with an inner core of oligomerized CARD surrounded by an outer ring of FIINDUPA. Biochemically, self-assembled NLRP1-CARD filaments are sufficient to drive ASC speck formation in cultured human cells—a process that is greatly enhanced by NLRP1-FIINDUPA which forms oligomers in vitro. The cryo-EM structures of NLRP1-CARD and CARD8-CARD filaments, solved here at 3.7 Å, uncover unique structural features that enable NLRP1 and CARD8 to discriminate between ASC and pro-caspase-1. In summary, our findings provide structural insight into the mechanisms of activation for human NLRP1 and CARD8 and reveal how highly specific signaling can be achieved by heterotypic CARD interactions within the inflammasome complexes.

scholarly journals Cryo-EM Structures of Prestin and the Molecular Basis of Outer Hair Cell Electromotility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navid Bavi ◽  
Michael D Clark ◽  
Gustavo F Contreras ◽  
Rong Shen ◽  
Bharat Reddy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Outer Hair Cell ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Outer Hair Cells ◽  
Anion Binding ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Inhibition Mechanism ◽  
Core Domain ◽  
The Core ◽  
Voltage Dependent

The voltage-dependent motor protein, Prestin (SLC26A5) is responsible for the electromotive behavior of outer hair cells (OHCs). Here, we determined the structure of dolphin Prestin in complex with Cl- and the inhibitor Salicylate using single particle cryo-electron microscopy. These structures establish the specific structural features of mammalian Prestin and reveal small but significant differences with the transporter members of the SLC26 family of membrane proteins. Comparison with SLC26A9 point to conformational differences in the special relationship between the core and gate domains. Importantly, we highlight substantial alterations to the hydrophobic footprint of Prestin as it relates to the membrane, which point to a potential influence of Prestin on its surrounding lipid. The structure of Prestin bound to the inhibitor Salicylate confirms the nature of the anion binding pocket, formed by TM3 and TM10 in the Core domain and a set of anion coordinating residues which include Q97, F101, F137, S398 and R399. The presence of a well-defined density for Salycilate points to an inhibition mechanism based on competition for the anion-binding pocket of Prestin. These observations illuminate the structural basis of Prestin electromotility, a key component in the mammalian cochlear amplifier.

Electron microscopic studies on the structure of motile primordial germ cells of Xenopus laevis in vitro

Development ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-133
Author(s):  
Janet Heasman ◽  
C. C. Wylie
Keyword(s):  
Xenopus Laevis ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Microscopic Studies

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) of Xenopus laevis have been isolated from early embryos and kept alive in vitro, in order to study the structural basis of their motility, using the transmission and scanning electron microscope. The culture conditions used mimicked as closely as possible the in vivo environment of migrating PGCs, in that isolated PGCs were seeded onto monolayers of amphibian mesentery cells. In these conditions we have demonstrated that: (a) No significant differences were found between the morphology of PGCs in vitro and in vivo. (b) Structural features involved in PGC movement in vitro include (i) the presence of a filamentous substructure, (ii) filopodial and blunt cell processes, (iii) cell surface specializations. These features are also characteristic of migratory PGCs studied in vivo. (c) PGCs in vitro have powers of invasion similar to those of migrating PGCs in vivo. They occasionally become completely surrounded by cells of the monolayer and, in this situation, bear striking resemblance to PGCs moving between mesentery cells to the site of the developing gonad in stage-44 tadpoles. We conclude that as far as it is possible to assess, the behaviour of isolated PGCs in these in vitro conditions mimics their activities in vivo. This allows us to study the ultrastructural basis of their migration.

scholarly journals Structural basis for divergent and convergent evolution of catalytic machineries in plant aromatic amino acid decarboxylase proteins

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (20) ◽  
pp. 10806-10817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Torrens-Spence ◽  
Ying-Chih Chiang ◽  
Tyler Smith ◽  
Maria A. Vicent ◽  
Yi Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Divergent Evolution ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Acid Decarboxylase ◽  
Substrate Selectivity ◽  
Amino Acid Decarboxylase ◽  
Catalytic Mechanisms

Radiation of the plant pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP)-dependent aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AAAD) family has yielded an array of paralogous enzymes exhibiting divergent substrate preferences and catalytic mechanisms. Plant AAADs catalyze either the decarboxylation or decarboxylation-dependent oxidative deamination of aromatic l-amino acids to produce aromatic monoamines or aromatic acetaldehydes, respectively. These compounds serve as key precursors for the biosynthesis of several important classes of plant natural products, including indole alkaloids, benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, hydroxycinnamic acid amides, phenylacetaldehyde-derived floral volatiles, and tyrosol derivatives. Here, we present the crystal structures of four functionally distinct plant AAAD paralogs. Through structural and functional analyses, we identify variable structural features of the substrate-binding pocket that underlie the divergent evolution of substrate selectivity toward indole, phenyl, or hydroxyphenyl amino acids in plant AAADs. Moreover, we describe two mechanistic classes of independently arising mutations in AAAD paralogs leading to the convergent evolution of the derived aldehyde synthase activity. Applying knowledge learned from this study, we successfully engineered a shortened benzylisoquinoline alkaloid pathway to produce (S)-norcoclaurine in yeast. This work highlights the pliability of the AAAD fold that allows change of substrate selectivity and access to alternative catalytic mechanisms with only a few mutations.

Evidence that fatty acid chain length is a type II cell lipid-sorting signal

1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (2) ◽  
pp. L44-L51 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Longmuir ◽  
S. Haynes
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Chain Length ◽  
Molecular Species ◽  
Palmitoleic Acid ◽  
Lamellar Body ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Fatty Acid Chain ◽  
Type Ii Cell

This study was undertaken to determine those structural features of phospholipid molecules which influence their enrichment in type II cell lamellar body material. Cultured fetal rabbit lung tissue was labeled with [1-14C]acetate, type II cells were isolated, and extracellular lamellar body and microsomal fractions were prepared. Radiolabeled molecular species of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), followed by silver nitrate thin-layer chromatography of HPLC peak fractions that overlapped. Compared with microsomes, lamellar body PC was selectively enriched with molecular species containing 14- and 16-carbon fatty acids and depleted of species containing 18-carbon fatty acids. Palmitoleic acid and an ether linkage positively influenced the enrichment of PC molecular species in the lamellar body material, but these structural features were secondary to the predominant influence of fatty acid chain length. In vivo, lung tissue normally contains low levels of palmitoleic acid; hence most unsaturated fatty acids are 18-carbons or longer. A cellular lipid-sorting mechanism that selects PCs by recognition of 14- and 16-carbon fatty acid chains (and not by recognition of fatty acid saturation) should serve to enrich the resulting pulmonary surfactant with disaturated molecular species of PC.

scholarly journals Coupled Translocation Events Generate Topological Heterogeneity at the Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 2681-2697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Moss ◽  
Andrew Helm ◽  
Yun Lu ◽  
Alvina Bragin ◽  
William R. Skach
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane ◽  
Type I ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Hydrophobic Residues ◽  
P Glycoprotein ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Signal Anchor ◽  
Hydrophilic Residues

Topogenic determinants that direct protein topology at the endoplasmic reticulum membrane usually function with high fidelity to establish a uniform topological orientation for any given polypeptide. Here we show, however, that through the coupling of sequential translocation events, native topogenic determinants are capable of generating two alternate transmembrane structures at the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Using defined chimeric and epitope-tagged full-length proteins, we found that topogenic activities of two C-trans (type II) signal anchor sequences, encoded within the seventh and eighth transmembrane (TM) segments of human P-glycoprotein were directly coupled by an inefficient stop transfer (ST) sequence (TM7b) contained within the C-terminus half of TM7. Remarkably, these activities enabled TM7 to achieve both a single- and a double-spanning TM topology with nearly equal efficiency. In addition, ST and C-trans signal anchor activities encoded by TM8 were tightly linked to the weak ST activity, and hence topological fate, of TM7b. This interaction enabled TM8 to span the membrane in either a type I or a type II orientation. Pleiotropic structural features contributing to this unusual topogenic behavior included 1) a short, flexible peptide loop connecting TM7a and TM7b, 2) hydrophobic residues within TM7b, and 3) hydrophilic residues between TM7b and TM8.

scholarly journals The stability of human beta-globin mRNA is dependent on structural determinants positioned within its 3' untranslated region

Blood ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 87 (12) ◽  
pp. 5314-5323 ◽  
Author(s):  
JE Russell ◽  
SA Liebhaber
Keyword(s):  
Mrna Stability ◽  
Globin Gene ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Beta Globin ◽  
Erythroid Cells ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Globin Mrna ◽  
Alpha Globin

Controls that act at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels assure that globin genes are highly expressed in developing erythroid cells. The extraordinary stabilities of alpha- and beta- globin mRNAs permit globin proteins to accumulate to substantial levels in these cells, even in the face of physiologic transcriptional silencing. Structural features that determine alpha-globin mRNA stability have recently been identified within its 3′UTR; in contrast, the structural features that determine beta-globin mRNA stability remain obscure. The current study begins to define the structural basis for beta-globin mRNA stability. Two tandem antitermination mutations are introduced into the wild-type human beta-globin gene that permit ribosomes to read into the 3′UTR of the encoded beta-globin mRNA. The readthrough beta-globin mRNA is destabilized in cultured erythroid cells, indicating that, as in human alpha-globin mRNA, an unperturbed 3′UTR is crucial to maintaining mRNA stability. Additional experiments show that the beta-globin and alpha-globin mRNA 3′UTRs provide equivalent levels of stability to a linked beta-globin mRNA coding region, suggesting a parallel in their functions. However, destabilization of the antiterminated beta-globin mRNA is independent of active translation into the 3′UTR, whereas translation into the alpha-globin mRNA 3′UTR destabilizes a linked beta-globin coding region in a translationally dependent manner. This indicates that the alpha- and beta-globin 3′UTRs may stabilize linked mRNAs through distinct mechanisms. Finally, it is shown that neither of the two mutations that, in combination, destabilize the beta-globin mRNA have any effect on beta-globin mRNA stability when present singly, suggesting potential redundancy of stabilizing elements. In sum, the current study shows that a functionally intact beta-globin mRNA 3′UTR is crucial to maintaining beta-globin mRNA stability and provides a level of stability that is functionally equivalent to, although potentially mechanistically distinct from, the previously characterized alpha- globin mRNA 3′UTR stability element.

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