RESUMO
We have demonstrated that a bacterial membrane protein, YeeE, mediates thiosulfate uptake. Thiosulfate is used for cysteine synthesis in bacteria as an inorganic sulfur source in the global biological sulfur cycle. The crystal structure of YeeE at 2.5-Å resolution reveals an unprecedented hourglass-like architecture with thiosulfate in the positively charged outer concave side. YeeE is composed of loops and 13 helices including 9 transmembrane α helices, most of which show an intramolecular pseudo 222 symmetry. Four characteristic loops are buried toward the center of YeeE and form its central region surrounded by the nine helices. Additional electron density maps and successive molecular dynamics simulations imply that thiosulfate can remain temporally at several positions in the proposed pathway. We propose a plausible mechanism of thiosulfate uptake via three important conserved cysteine residues of the loops along the pathway.
RESUMO
Protein secretion mediated by SecYEG translocon and SecA ATPase is enhanced by membrane-embedded SecDF by using proton motive force. A previous structural study of SecDF indicated that it comprises 12 transmembrane helices that can conduct protons and three periplasmic domains, which form at least two characterized transition states, termed the F and I forms. We report the structures of full-length SecDF in I form at 2.6- to 2.8-Å resolution. The structures revealed that SecDF in I form can generate a tunnel that penetrates the transmembrane region and functions as a proton pathway regulated by a conserved Asp residue of the transmembrane region. In one crystal structure, periplasmic cavity interacts with a molecule, potentially polyethylene glycol, which may mimic a substrate peptide. This study provides structural insights into the Sec protein translocation that allows future analyses to develop a more detailed working model for SecDF.