Structure of the enterococcal T4SS protein PrgL reveals unique dimerization interface in the VirB8 protein familyShow others and affiliations
2022 (English)In: Structure, ISSN 0969-2126, E-ISSN 1878-4186, Vol. 30, no 6, p. 876-885.e5Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Multidrug-resistant bacteria pose serious problems in hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Most antibiotic resistance genes are acquired via conjugative gene transfer, mediated by type 4 secretion systems (T4SS). Although most multidrug-resistant bacteria responsible for HAIs are of Gram-positive origin, with enterococci being major contributors, mostly Gram-negative T4SSs have been characterized. Here, we describe the structure and organization of PrgL, a core protein of the T4SS channel, encoded by the pCF10 plasmid from Enterococcus faecalis. The structure of PrgL displays similarity to VirB8 proteins of Gram-negative T4SSs. In vitro experiments show that the soluble domain alone is enough to drive both dimerization and dodecamerization, with a dimerization interface that differs from all other known VirB8-like proteins. In vivo experiments verify the importance of PrgL dimerization. Our findings provide insight into the molecular building blocks of Gram-positive T4SS, highlighting similarities but also unique features in PrgL compared to other VirB8-like proteins.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2022. Vol. 30, no 6, p. 876-885.e5
Keywords [en]
conjugation, type 4 secretion systems, VirB8-like proteins, X-ray crystallography
National Category
Structural Biology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-196174DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2022.03.013ISI: 000808129900011PubMedID: 35429437Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85130785842OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-196174DiVA, id: diva2:1668614
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2018–07152Swedish Research Council Formas, 2019–02496Wenner-Gren Foundations, UPD2018-0008Swedish Research Council, 2016–03599Knut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationThe Kempe Foundations, SMK-1762The Kempe Foundations, SMK-1869Carl Tryggers foundation , CTS 18:392022-06-132022-06-132023-09-05Bibliographically approved