Structural highlights
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Pseudomonas syringae injects numerous bacterial proteins into host plant cells through a type 3 secretion system (T3SS). One of the first such bacterial effectors discovered, HopA1, is a protein that has unknown functions in the host cell but possesses close homologs that trigger the plant hypersensitive response in resistant strains. Like the virulence factors in many bacterial pathogens of animals, HopA1 depends upon a cognate chaperone in order to be effectively translocated by the P. syringae T3SS. Herein, we report the crystal structure of a complex of HopA1(21-102) with its chaperone, ShcA, determined to 1.56-A resolution. The structure reveals that three key features of the chaperone-effector interactions found in animal pathogens are preserved in the Gram-negative pathogens of plants, namely, (i) the interaction of the chaperone with a nonglobular polypeptide of the effector, (ii) an interaction centered on the so-called beta-motif, and (iii) the presence of a conserved hydrophobic patch in the chaperone that recognizes the beta-motif. Structure-based mutagenesis and biochemical studies have established that the beta-motif is critical for the stability of this complex. Overall, these results show that the beta-motif interactions are broadly conserved in bacterial pathogens utilizing T3SSs, spanning an interkingdom host range.
Structure of the HopA1(21-102)-ShcA chaperone-effector complex of Pseudomonas syringae reveals conservation of a virulence factor binding motif from animal to plant pathogens.,Janjusevic R, Quezada CM, Small J, Stebbins CE J Bacteriol. 2013 Feb;195(4):658-64. doi: 10.1128/JB.01621-12. Epub 2012 Nov 30. PMID:23204470[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Janjusevic R, Quezada CM, Small J, Stebbins CE. Structure of the HopA1(21-102)-ShcA chaperone-effector complex of Pseudomonas syringae reveals conservation of a virulence factor binding motif from animal to plant pathogens. J Bacteriol. 2013 Feb;195(4):658-64. doi: 10.1128/JB.01621-12. Epub 2012 Nov 30. PMID:23204470 doi:10.1128/JB.01621-12