7KOB

Crystal structure of antigen 43b from Escherichia coli CFT073

Summary for 7KOB

• Entry DOI: 10.2210/pdb7kob/pdb
• Descriptor: Antigen 43b, GLYCEROL (3 entities in total)
• Functional Keywords: autotransporters, biofilm, bacterial virulence, bacterial infection, microbial protein
• Biological source: Escherichia coli
• Total number of polymer chains: 1
• Total formula weight: 36986.90

Authors

Martinez-Ortiz, G.C.,Hor, L.,Paxman, J.J.,Heras, B. (deposition date: 2020-11-07, release date: 2022-03-09, Last modification date: 2023-10-25)

Primary citation

Vo, J.L.,Ortiz, G.C.M.,Totsika, M.,Lo, A.W.,Hancock, S.J.,Whitten, A.E.,Hor, L.,Peters, K.M.,Ageorges, V.,Caccia, N.,Desvaux, M.,Schembri, M.A.,Paxman, J.J.,Heras, B.
Variation of Antigen 43 self-association modulates bacterial compacting within aggregates and biofilms.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes, 8:20-20, 2022

PubMed Abstract: The formation of aggregates and biofilms enhances bacterial colonisation and infection progression by affording protection from antibiotics and host immune factors. Despite these advantages there is a trade-off, whereby bacterial dissemination is reduced. As such, biofilm development needs to be controlled to suit adaptation to different environments. Here we investigate members from one of largest groups of bacterial adhesins, the autotransporters, for their critical role in the assembly of bacterial aggregates and biofilms. We describe the structural and functional characterisation of autotransporter Ag43 variants from different Escherichia coli pathotypes. We show that specific interactions between amino acids on the contacting interfaces of adjacent Ag43 proteins drives a common mode of trans-association that leads to cell clumping. Furthermore, subtle variation of these interactions alters aggregation kinetics and the degree of compacting within cell clusters. Together, our structure-function investigation reveals an underlying molecular basis for variations in the density of bacterial communities.

PubMed: 35396507
DOI: 10.1038/s41522-022-00284-1

Experimental method

X-RAY DIFFRACTION (2.08 Å)