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    Cryo-EM structure of a conjugative type IV secretion system suggests a molecular switch regulating pilus biogenesis

    Macé, Kévin and Waksman, Gabriel (2024) Cryo-EM structure of a conjugative type IV secretion system suggests a molecular switch regulating pilus biogenesis. The EMBO Journal 43 (15), pp. 3287-3306. ISSN 0261-4189.

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    Abstract

    Conjugative type IV secretion systems (T4SS) mediate bacterial conjugation, a process that enables the unidirectional exchange of genetic materials between a donor and a recipient bacterial cell. Bacterial conjugation is the primary means by which antibiotic resistance genes spread among bacterial populations (Barlow 2009; Virolle et al, 2020). Conjugative T4SSs form pili: long extracellular filaments that connect with recipient cells. Previously, we solved the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of a conjugative T4SS. In this article, based on additional data, we present a more complete T4SS cryo-EM structure than that published earlier. Novel structural features include details of the mismatch symmetry within the OMCC, the presence of a fourth VirB8 subunit in the asymmetric unit of both the arches and the inner membrane complex (IMC), and a hydrophobic VirB5 tip in the distal end of the stalk. Additionally, we provide previously undescribed structural insights into the protein VirB10 and identify a novel regulation mechanism of T4SS-mediated pilus biogenesis by this protein, that we believe is a key checkpoint for this process.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 08 Apr 2025 15:33
    Last Modified: 31 Aug 2025 05:11
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/55386

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