Structural basis for directional chitin biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Chitin, the most abundant aminopolysaccharide in nature, is an extracellular polymer consisting of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) units¹. The key reactions of chitin biosynthesis are catalysed by chitin synthase^2-4, a membrane-integrated glycosyltransferase that transfers GlcNAc from UDP-GlcNAc to a growing chitin chain. However, the precise mechanism of this process has yet to be elucidated. Here we report five cryo-electron microscopy structures of a chitin synthase from the devastating soybean root rot pathogenic oomycete Phytophthora sojae (PsChs1). They represent the apo, GlcNAc-bound, nascent chitin oligomer-bound, UDP-bound (post-synthesis) and chitin synthase inhibitor nikkomycin Z-bound states of the enzyme, providing detailed views into the multiple steps of c

SUBMITTER: Chen W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9556331 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature