Structural basis for Rab6 activation by the Ric1-Rgp1 complex.

Rab GTPases act as molecular switches to regulate organelle homeostasis and membrane trafficking. Rab6 plays a central role in regulating cargo flux through the Golgi and is activated via nucleotide exchange by the Ric1-Rgp1 protein complex. Ric1-Rgp1 is conserved throughout eukaryotes but the structural and mechanistic basis for its function has not been established. Here we report the cryoEM structure of a Ric1-Rgp1-Rab6 complex representing a key intermediate of the nucleotide exchange reaction. This structure reveals the overall architecture of the complex and enabled us to identify interactions critical for proper recognition and activation of Rab6 on the Golgi membrane surface. Ric1-Rgp1 interacts with the nucleotide-binding domain of Rab6 using an uncharacterized helical domain, which we establish as a novel RabGEF domain by identifying residues required for Rab6 nucleotide exchange. Unexpectedly, the complex uses an arrestin fold to interact with the Rab6 hypervariable domain, indicating that interactions with the unstructured C-terminal regions of Rab GTPases may be a common specificity mechanism used by their activators. Collectively, our findings provide a detailed mechanistic understanding of regulated Rab6 activation at the Golgi.

Structure of the RhlR-PqsE complex from Pseudomonas aeruginosa reveals mechanistic insights into quorum-sensing gene regulation.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that is responsible for thousands of deaths every year in the United States. P. aeruginosa virulence factor production is mediated by quorum sensing, a mechanism of bacterial cell-cell communication that relies on the production and detection of signal molecules called autoinducers. In P. aeruginosa, the transcription factor receptor RhlR is activated by a RhlI-synthesized autoinducer. We recently showed that RhlR-dependent transcription is enhanced by a physical interaction with the enzyme PqsE via increased affinity of RhlR for promoter DNA. However, the molecular basis for complex formation and how complex formation enhanced RhlR transcriptional activity remained unclear. Here, we report the structure of ligand-bound RhlR in complex with PqsE. Additionally, we determined the structure of the complex bound with DNA, revealing the mechanism by which RhlR-mediated transcription is enhanced by PqsE, thereby establishing the molecular basis for RhlR-dependent virulence factor production in P. aeruginosa.

The structural basis of Salmonella A2B5 toxin neutralization by antibodies targeting the glycan-receptor binding subunits.

Many bacterial pathogens secrete A(2)B5 toxins comprising two functionally distinct yet complementary "A" and "B" subunits to benefit the pathogens during infection. The lectin-like pentameric B subunits recognize specific sets of host glycans to deliver the toxin into target host cells. Here, we offer the molecular mechanism by which neutralizing antibodies, which have the potential to bind to all glycan-receptor binding sites and thus completely inhibit toxin binding to host cells, are inhibited from exerting this action. Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM)-based analyses indicate that the skewed positioning of the toxin A subunit(s) toward one side of the toxin B pentamer inhibited neutralizing antibody binding to the laterally located epitopes, rendering some glycan-receptor binding sites that remained available for the toxin binding and endocytosis process, which is strikingly different from the counterpart antibodies recognizing the far side-located epitopes. These results highlight additional features of the toxin-antibody interactions and offer important insights into anti-toxin strategies.

Experimental evaluation of super-resolution imaging and magnification choice in single-particle cryo-EM.

The resolution of cryo-EM reconstructions is fundamentally limited by the Nyquist frequency, which is half the sampling frequency of the detector and depends upon the magnification used. In principle, super-resolution imaging should enable reconstructions to surpass the physical Nyquist limit by increasing sampling frequency, yet there are few reports of reconstructions that do so. Here we directly examine the contribution of super-resolution information, obtained with the K3 direct electron detector using a 2-condenser microscope, to single-particle cryo-EM reconstructions surpassing the physical Nyquist limit. We also present a comparative analysis of a sample imaged at four different magnifications. This analysis demonstrates that lower magnifications can be beneficial, despite the loss of higher resolution signal, due to the increased number of particle images obtained. To highlight the potential utility of lower magnification data collection, we produced a 3.5 Å reconstruction of jack bean urease with particles from a single micrograph.

Structures of immature EIAV Gag lattices reveal a conserved role for IP6 in lentivirus assembly.

Retrovirus assembly is driven by the multidomain structural protein Gag. Interactions between the capsid domains (CA) of Gag result in Gag multimerization, leading to an immature virus particle that is formed by a protein lattice based on dimeric, trimeric, and hexameric protein contacts. Among retroviruses the inter- and intra-hexamer contacts differ, especially in the N-terminal sub-domain of CA (CANTD). For HIV-1 the cellular molecule inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) interacts with and stabilizes the immature hexamer, and is required for production of infectious virus particles. We have used in vitro assembly, cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and mutational analyses to study the HIV-related lentivirus equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). In particular, we sought to understand the structural conservation of the immature lentivirus lattice and the role of IP6 in EIAV assembly. Similar to HIV-1, IP6 strongly promoted in vitro assembly of EIAV Gag proteins into virus-like particles (VLPs), which took three morphologically highly distinct forms: narrow tubes, wide tubes, and spheres. Structural characterization of these VLPs to sub-4Å resolution unexpectedly showed that all three morphologies are based on an immature lattice with preserved key structural components, highlighting the structural versatility of CA to form immature assemblies. A direct comparison between EIAV and HIV revealed that both lentiviruses maintain similar immature interfaces, which are established by both conserved and non-conserved residues. In both EIAV and HIV-1, IP6 regulates immature assembly via conserved lysine residues within the CACTD and SP. Lastly, we demonstrate that IP6 stimulates in vitro assembly of immature particles of several other retroviruses in the lentivirus genus, suggesting a conserved role for IP6 in lentiviral assembly.

Classification of the human phox homology (PX) domains based on their phosphoinositide binding specificities.

Phox homology (PX) domains are membrane interacting domains that bind to phosphatidylinositol phospholipids or phosphoinositides, markers of organelle identity in the endocytic system. Although many PX domains bind the canonical endosome-enriched lipid PtdIns3P, others interact with alternative phosphoinositides, and a precise understanding of how these specificities arise has remained elusive. Here we systematically screen all human PX domains for their phospholipid preferences using liposome binding assays, biolayer interferometry and isothermal titration calorimetry. These analyses define four distinct classes of human PX domains that either bind specifically to PtdIns3P, non-specifically to various di- and tri-phosphorylated phosphoinositides, bind both PtdIns3P and other phosphoinositides, or associate with none of the lipids tested. A comprehensive evaluation of PX domain structures reveals two distinct binding sites that explain these specificities, providing a basis for defining and predicting the functional membrane interactions of the entire PX domain protein family.

Mdm1 maintains endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis by spatially regulating lipid droplet biogenesis.

Lipid droplets (LDs) serve as cytoplasmic reservoirs for energy-rich fatty acids (FAs) stored in the form of triacylglycerides (TAGs). During nutrient stress, yeast LDs cluster adjacent to the vacuole/lysosome, but how this LD accumulation is coordinated remains poorly understood. The ER protein Mdm1 is a molecular tether that plays a role in clustering LDs during nutrient depletion, but its mechanism of function remains unknown. Here, we show that Mdm1 associates with LDs through its hydrophobic N-terminal region, which is sufficient to demarcate sites for LD budding. Mdm1 binds FAs via its Phox-associated domain and coenriches with fatty acyl-coenzyme A ligase Faa1 at LD bud sites. Consistent with this, loss of MDM1 perturbs free FA activation and Dga1-dependent synthesis of TAGs, elevating the cellular FA level, which perturbs ER morphology and sensitizes yeast to FA-induced lipotoxicity. We propose that Mdm1 coordinates FA activation adjacent to the vacuole to promote LD production in response to stress, thus maintaining ER homeostasis.

Lipid droplet biogenesis is spatially coordinated at ER-vacuole contacts under nutritional stress.

Eukaryotic cells store lipids in cytosolic organelles known as lipid droplets (LDs). Lipid droplet bud from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and may be harvested by the vacuole for energy during prolonged periods of starvation. How cells spatially coordinate LD production is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that yeast ER-vacuole contact sites (NVJs) physically expand in response to metabolic stress, and serve as sites for LD production. NVJ tether Mdm1 demarcates sites of LD budding, and interacts with fatty acyl-CoA synthases at the NVJ periphery. Artificially expanding the NVJ through over-expressing Mdm1 is sufficient to drive NVJ-associated LD production, whereas ablating the NVJ induces defects in fatty acid-to-triglyceride production. Collectively, our data suggest a tight metabolic link between nutritional stress and LD biogenesis that is spatially coordinated at ER-vacuole contact sites.