Download MendeleyThe Plasticity of Molecular Interactions Governs Bacterial Microcompartment Shell Assembly.
Greber, B.J., Sutter, M., Kerfeld, C.A.(2019) Structure 27: 749-763.e4
- PubMed: 30833088
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2019.01.017
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
6MZU, 6MZV, 6MZX, 6MZY, 6N06, 6N07, 6N09, 6N0F, 6N0G - PubMed Abstract:
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-Å 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.
Organizational Affiliation:
California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Molecular Biophysics and Integrative Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
