2r5o

Publication Abstract from PubMed

ATP-binding-cassette (ABC) transporters are responsible for the export of a wide variety of cell-surface glycoconjugates in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. These include the O-antigenic polysaccharide (O-PS) portion of lipopolysaccharide, a crucial virulence determinant in Gram-negative pathogens. O-PSs are synthesized by one of two fundamentally different pathways. Escherichia coli O serotypes O8 and O9a provide the prototype systems for studying O-PS export via ABC transporters. The transporter is composed of the transmembrane component Wzm and the nucleotide-binding component Wzt. Although the N-terminal domain of Wzt is a conventional ABC protein, the C-terminal domain of Wzt (C-Wzt) is a unique structural element that determines the specificity of the transporter for either the O8 or O9a O-PS. We show here that the two domains of Wzt can function when expressed as separate polypeptides; both are essential for export. In vitro, C-Wzt binds its cognate O-PS by recognizing a residue located at the nonreducing end of the polymer. The crystal structure of C-Wzt(O9a) is reported here and reveals a beta sandwich with an immunoglobulin-like topology that contains the O-PS-binding pocket. Substrate interactions with nucleotide-binding domains have been demonstrated in an ABC exporter previously. However, to our knowledge substrate binding by a discrete, cytoplasmic accessory domain in an extended nucleotide-binding domain polypeptide has not previously been demonstrated. Elucidation of the substrate-recognition system involved in O-PS export provides insight into the mechanism that coordinates polymer biosynthesis, termination, and export.

Substrate binding by a bacterial ABC transporter involved in polysaccharide export.,Cuthbertson L, Kimber MS, Whitfield C Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Dec 4;104(49):19529-34. Epub 2007 Nov 21. PMID:18032609^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.