Structure and mechanism of the proton-driven motor that powers Type 9 secretion and gliding motility

Three classes of ion-driven protein motors have been identified to date: ATP synthase, the bacterial flagellar motor, and a proton-driven motor that powers gliding motility and the Type 9 protein secretion system (T9SS) in Bacteroidetes bacteria. Here, we present cryo-EM structures of the gliding motility/T9SS motors GldLM from Flavobacterium johnsoniae and PorLM from Porphyromonas gingivalis. The motor is an asymmetric inner membrane protein complex in which the single transmembrane helices of two periplasm-spanning GldM/PorM proteins are positioned inside a ring of five GldL/PorL proteins. Mutagenesis and single-molecule tracking identifies protonatable amino acid residues in the transmembrane domain of the complex that are important for motor function. Our data provide evidence for a mechanism in which proton flow results in rotation of the periplasm-spanning GldM/PorM dimer inside the intra-membrane GldL/PorL ring to drive processes at the bacterial outer membrane.