Origin and Evolution of Bacterial Periplasmic Force Transducers.

ABSTRACT: In double-membraned bacteria, non-equilibrium processes that occur at the outer membrane are typically coupled to the chemiosmotically energized inner membrane. TolA and TonB are homologous proteins which energetically couple inner membrane motor proteins to the essential processes of outer membrane stabilization and substrate import, respectively. The evolutionary trajectories of these proteins have been difficult to elucidate due to low-sequence conservation, yet they are thought to transduce force similarly. Here, this problem was addressed using structural prediction approaches to identify and annotate force transduction operons to trace their distribution and evolutionary origins. In the process, we identify a novel outer membrane-tethering system and a previously unknown family of mo

SUBMITTER: Williams-Jones DP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12204202 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature