Vadakkepat, A.K. and Xue, S. and Redzej, A. and Smith, T.K. and Ho, Brian and Waksman, Gabriel (2024) Cryo-EM structure of the R388 plasmid conjugative pilus reveals a helical polymer characterized by an unusual pilin/phospholipid binary complex. Structure 32 , pp. 1335-1347. ISSN 0969-2126.
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Abstract
Bacterial conjugation is a process by which DNA is transferred unidirectionally from a donor cell to a recipient cell. It is the main means by which antibiotic resistance genes spread among bacterial populations. It is crucially dependent upon the elaboration of an extracellular appendage, termed "pilus," by a large double-membrane-spanning secretion system termed conjugative "type IV secretion system." Here we present the structure of the conjugative pilus encoded by the R388 plasmid. We demonstrate that, as opposed to all conjugative pili produced so far for cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure determination, the conjugative pilus encoded by the R388 plasmid is greatly stimulated by the presence of recipient cells. Comparison of its cryo-EM structure with existing conjugative pilus structures highlights a number of important differences between the R388 pilus structure and that of its homologs, the most prominent being the highly distinctive conformation of its bound lipid.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | Structural Molecular Biology, Institute of (ISMB) |
| Depositing User: | Brian Ho |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Dec 2024 13:53 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Dec 2024 16:11 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/54712 |
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