The 3D structure of a periplasm-spanning platform required for assembly of group 1 capsular polysaccharides in Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT: Capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) are essential virulence determinants of many pathogenic bacteria. Escherichia coli group 1 CPSs provide paradigms for widespread surface polysaccharide assembly systems in Gram-negative bacteria. In these systems, complex carbohydrate polymers must be exported across the periplasm and outer membrane to the cell surface. Group 1 CPS export requires oligomers of the outer membrane protein, Wza, for translocation across the outer membrane. Assembly also depends on Wzc, an inner membrane tyrosine autokinase known to regulate export and synthesis of group 1 CPS. Here, we provide a structural view of a complex comprising Wzc and Wza that spans the periplasm, connecting the inner and outer membranes. Examination of transmembrane sections of the complex suggests tha

SUBMITTER: Collins RF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1793899 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature