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TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch important for the function and assembly of the Tat translocon in Escherichia coli

The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) system serves to translocate folded proteins across energy-transducing membranes in bacteria, archaea, plastids, and some mitochondria. In Escherichia coli, TatA, TatB, and TatC constitute functional translocons. TatA and TatB both possess an N-terminal transmem...

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Autores principales: Mehner-Breitfeld, Denise, Ringel, Michael T., Tichy, Daniel Alexander, Endter, Laura J., Stroh, Kai Steffen, Lünsdorf, Heinrich, Risselada, Herre Jelger, Brüser, Thomas
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9424591/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35809643
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102236
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author Mehner-Breitfeld, Denise
Ringel, Michael T.
Tichy, Daniel Alexander
Endter, Laura J.
Stroh, Kai Steffen
Lünsdorf, Heinrich
Risselada, Herre Jelger
Brüser, Thomas
author_facet Mehner-Breitfeld, Denise
Ringel, Michael T.
Tichy, Daniel Alexander
Endter, Laura J.
Stroh, Kai Steffen
Lünsdorf, Heinrich
Risselada, Herre Jelger
Brüser, Thomas
author_sort Mehner-Breitfeld, Denise
collection PubMed
description The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) system serves to translocate folded proteins across energy-transducing membranes in bacteria, archaea, plastids, and some mitochondria. In Escherichia coli, TatA, TatB, and TatC constitute functional translocons. TatA and TatB both possess an N-terminal transmembrane helix (TMH) followed by an amphipathic helix. The TMHs of TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch with the membrane, as the helices comprise only 12 consecutive hydrophobic residues; however, the purpose of this mismatch is unclear. Here, we shortened or extended this stretch of hydrophobic residues in either TatA, TatB, or both and analyzed effects on translocon function and assembly. We found the WT length helices functioned best, but some variation was clearly tolerated. Defects in function were exacerbated by simultaneous mutations in TatA and TatB, indicating partial compensation of mutations in each by the other. Furthermore, length variation in TatB destabilized TatBC-containing complexes, revealing that the 12-residue-length is important but not essential for this interaction and translocon assembly. To also address potential effects of helix length on TatA interactions, we characterized these interactions by molecular dynamics simulations, after having characterized the TatA assemblies by metal-tagging transmission electron microscopy. In these simulations, we found that interacting short TMHs of larger TatA assemblies were thinning the membrane and—together with laterally-aligned tilted amphipathic helices—generated a deep V-shaped membrane groove. We propose the 12 consecutive hydrophobic residues may thus serve to destabilize the membrane during Tat transport, and their conservation could represent a delicate compromise between functionality and minimization of proton leakage.
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spelling pubmed-94245912022-08-31 TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch important for the function and assembly of the Tat translocon in Escherichia coli Mehner-Breitfeld, Denise Ringel, Michael T. Tichy, Daniel Alexander Endter, Laura J. Stroh, Kai Steffen Lünsdorf, Heinrich Risselada, Herre Jelger Brüser, Thomas J Biol Chem Research Article The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) system serves to translocate folded proteins across energy-transducing membranes in bacteria, archaea, plastids, and some mitochondria. In Escherichia coli, TatA, TatB, and TatC constitute functional translocons. TatA and TatB both possess an N-terminal transmembrane helix (TMH) followed by an amphipathic helix. The TMHs of TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch with the membrane, as the helices comprise only 12 consecutive hydrophobic residues; however, the purpose of this mismatch is unclear. Here, we shortened or extended this stretch of hydrophobic residues in either TatA, TatB, or both and analyzed effects on translocon function and assembly. We found the WT length helices functioned best, but some variation was clearly tolerated. Defects in function were exacerbated by simultaneous mutations in TatA and TatB, indicating partial compensation of mutations in each by the other. Furthermore, length variation in TatB destabilized TatBC-containing complexes, revealing that the 12-residue-length is important but not essential for this interaction and translocon assembly. To also address potential effects of helix length on TatA interactions, we characterized these interactions by molecular dynamics simulations, after having characterized the TatA assemblies by metal-tagging transmission electron microscopy. In these simulations, we found that interacting short TMHs of larger TatA assemblies were thinning the membrane and—together with laterally-aligned tilted amphipathic helices—generated a deep V-shaped membrane groove. We propose the 12 consecutive hydrophobic residues may thus serve to destabilize the membrane during Tat transport, and their conservation could represent a delicate compromise between functionality and minimization of proton leakage. American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2022-07-07 /pmc/articles/PMC9424591/ /pubmed/35809643 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102236 Text en © 2022 The Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Research Article
Mehner-Breitfeld, Denise
Ringel, Michael T.
Tichy, Daniel Alexander
Endter, Laura J.
Stroh, Kai Steffen
Lünsdorf, Heinrich
Risselada, Herre Jelger
Brüser, Thomas
TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch important for the function and assembly of the Tat translocon in Escherichia coli
title TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch important for the function and assembly of the Tat translocon in Escherichia coli
title_full TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch important for the function and assembly of the Tat translocon in Escherichia coli
title_fullStr TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch important for the function and assembly of the Tat translocon in Escherichia coli
title_full_unstemmed TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch important for the function and assembly of the Tat translocon in Escherichia coli
title_short TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch important for the function and assembly of the Tat translocon in Escherichia coli
title_sort tata and tatb generate a hydrophobic mismatch important for the function and assembly of the tat translocon in escherichia coli
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9424591/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35809643
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102236
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