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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are composed of an enzymatic core encapsulated by a selectively permeable protein shell that enhances catalytic efficiency. Many pathogenic bacteria derive competitive advantages from their BMC-based catabolism, implicating BMCs as drug targets. BMC shells are of interest for bioengineering due to their diverse and selective permeability properties and because they self-assemble. A complete understanding of shell composition and organization is a prerequisite for biotechnological applications. Here, we report the cryoelectron microscopy structure of a BMC shell at 3.0-A resolution, using an image-processing strategy that allowed us to determine the previously uncharacterized structural details of the interactions formed by the BMC-T(S) and BMC-T(D) shell subunits in the context of the assembled shell. We found unexpected structural plasticity among these interactions, resulting in distinct shell populations assembled from varying numbers of the BMC-T(S) and BMC-T(D) subunits. We discuss the implications of these findings on shell assembly and function.

The Plasticity of Molecular Interactions Governs Bacterial Microcompartment Shell Assembly.,Greber BJ, Sutter M, Kerfeld CA Structure. 2019 Feb 12. pii: S0969-2126(19)30017-6. doi:, 10.1016/j.str.2019.01.017. PMID:30833088^[1]

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