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Constraints on lateral gene transfer in promoting fimbrial usher protein diversity and function.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Stubenrauch, Christopher J 
Dougan, Gordon 
Lithgow, Trevor 

Abstract

Fimbriae are long, adhesive structures widespread throughout members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. They are multimeric extrusions, which are moved out of the bacterial cell through an integral outer membrane protein called usher. The complex folding mechanics of the usher protein were recently revealed to be catalysed by the membrane-embedded translocation and assembly module (TAM). Here, we examine the diversity of usher proteins across a wide range of extraintestinal (ExPEC) and enteropathogenic (EPEC) Escherichia coli, and further focus on a so far undescribed chaperone-usher system, with this usher referred to as UshC. The fimbrial system containing UshC is distributed across a discrete set of EPEC types, including model strains like E2348/67, as well as ExPEC ST131, currently the most prominent multi-drug-resistant uropathogenic E. coli strain worldwide. Deletion of the TAM from a naive strain of E. coli results in a drastic time delay in folding of UshC, which can be observed for a protein from EPEC as well as for two introduced proteins from related organisms, Yersinia and Enterobacter We suggest that this models why the TAM machinery is essential for efficient folding of proteins acquired via lateral gene transfer.

Description

Keywords

fimbriae, outer membrane, translocation and assembly module, Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins, Gene Transfer, Horizontal, Genetic Variation, Molecular Chaperones, Protein Folding

Journal Title

Open Biol

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2046-2441
2046-2441

Volume Title

7

Publisher

The Royal Society
Sponsorship
National Health and Medical Research Council (1092262)