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| Title | Architecture of the Wza-Wzc complex that mediates colanic acid translocation across the cell envelope in Gram-negative bacteria. |
|---|---|
| Journal, issue, pages | Nat Commun, Vol. 17, Issue 1, Year 2026 |
| Publish date | Jul 3, 2026 |
Authors | Jiao Liu / Yanlong Han / Guanxue Huang / Manfeng Zhang / Junlei Du / Haizhen Zhou / Dahua Chen / Yihua Huang / ![]() |
| PubMed Abstract | The Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway is a highly conserved mechanism for bacterial polysaccharide biosynthesis. This pathway is exemplified by the assembly and export of colanic acid mediated by the Wza-Wzc ...The Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway is a highly conserved mechanism for bacterial polysaccharide biosynthesis. This pathway is exemplified by the assembly and export of colanic acid mediated by the Wza-Wzc complex. While recent structural investigations have yielded valuable insights into the molecular basis of colanic acid biosynthesis, the overall architecture of the Wza-Wzc complex and the regulatory mechanism of colanic acid export remain incompletely understood. Here, we report cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of the Wza-Wzc complex from E. coli K12 in two functionally states: the autophosphorylated wild-type (Wza-Wzc) state and the non-phosphorylated (Wza-Wzc) state. Both structures reveal that Wza and Wzc assemble into a continuous channel spanning the entire bacterial cell envelope, indicating that phosphorylation of Wzc does not disassemble the intact export channel. Relative to Wza-Wzc, the octameric periplasmic domain of Wzc in Wza-Wzc undergoes a significant conformational rearrangement. This rearrangement reduces constriction region's diameter and confers a negatively charged property to the interior of the Wzc octamer, which is proposed to inhibit colanic acid export. Collectively, these structural findings confirm that the Wza-Wzc complex forms a colanic acid export channel throughout Wzc's phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cycle, advancing our mechanistic understanding of the Wzx/Wzy-dependent polysaccharide biosynthesis pathway in Gram-negative bacteria. |
External links | Nat Commun / PubMed:42399268 / PubMed Central |
| Methods | EM (single particle) |
| Resolution | 3.0 - 3.25 Å |
| Structure data | EMDB-66859, PDB-9xgv: EMDB-80645, PDB-26gs: |
| Source |
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Keywords | PROTEIN TRANSPORT / Complex / protein transporter complex |
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