CryoEM structure of the type IVa pilus secretin required for natural competence in Vibrio cholerae.

ABSTRACT: Natural transformation is the process by which bacteria take up genetic material from their environment and integrate it into their genome by homologous recombination. It represents one mode of horizontal gene transfer and contributes to the spread of traits like antibiotic resistance. In Vibrio cholerae, a type IVa pilus (T4aP) is thought to facilitate natural transformation by extending from the cell surface, binding to exogenous DNA, and retracting to thread this DNA through the outer membrane secretin, PilQ. Here, we use a functional tagged allele of VcPilQ purified from native V. cholerae cells to determine the cryoEM structure of the VcPilQ secretin in amphipol to ~2.7 Å. We use bioinformatics to examine the domain architecture and gene neighborhood of T4aP secretins in Proteobacteri

SUBMITTER: Weaver SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7545093 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature