Structure of a Type IV Secretion System Core Complex

Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) are important virulence factors used by Gram-negative bacterial pathogens to inject effectors into host cells or to spread plasmids harboring antibiotic resistance genes. We report the 15 angstrom resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of the core complex of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2009-01, Vol.323 (5911), p.266-268
Main Authors: Fronzes, Rémi, Schäfer, Eva, Wang, Luchun, Saibil, Helen R, Orlova, Elena V, Waksman, Gabriel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adenosine triphosphatases
Antibiotics
Bacteria
Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins - chemistry
Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins - genetics
Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins - ultrastructure
Bacterial Proteins - chemistry
Bacterial Proteins - genetics
Bacterial Proteins - ultrastructure
Cloning, Molecular
Cryoelectron Microscopy
Drug resistance
Electron density
Gram-Negative Bacteria - chemistry
Gram-Negative Bacteria - genetics
Gram-Negative Bacteria - pathogenicity
Imaging, Three-Dimensional
Models, Molecular
Molecular biology
Molecular structure
Multiprotein Complexes - chemistry
Multiprotein Complexes - ultrastructure
P branes
Plasmids
Protein Conformation
Protein Structure, Quaternary
Proteins
Secretion
Virulence Factors - chemistry
Virulence Factors - genetics
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Summary:Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) are important virulence factors used by Gram-negative bacterial pathogens to inject effectors into host cells or to spread plasmids harboring antibiotic resistance genes. We report the 15 angstrom resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of the core complex of a T4SS. The core complex is composed of three proteins, each present in 14 copies and forming a ~1.1-megadalton two-chambered, double membrane-spanning channel. The structure is double-walled, with each component apparently spanning a large part of the channel. The complex is open on the cytoplasmic side and constricted on the extracellular side. Overall, the T4SS core complex structure is different in both architecture and composition from the other known double membrane-spanning secretion system that has been structurally characterized.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1166101