title: Transmembrane signaling across the ligand-gated FhuA receptor: crystal structures of free and ferrichrome-bound states reveal allosteric changes.
abstract: FhuA protein facilitates ligand-gated transport of ferrichrome-bound iron across Escherichia coli outer membranes. X-ray analysis at 2.7 A resolution reveals two distinct conformations in the presence and absence of ferrichrome. The monomeric protein consists of a hollow, 22-stranded, antiparallel beta barrel (residues 160-714), which is obstructed by a plug (residues 19-159). The binding site of ferrichrome, an aromatic pocket near the cell surface, undergoes minor changes upon association with the ligand. These are propagated and amplified across the plug, eventually resulting in substantially different protein conformations at the periplasmic face. Our findings reveal the mechanism of signal transmission and suggest how the energy-transducing TonB complex senses ligand binding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Locher
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Koebnik
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mitschler
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moulinier
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Rosenbusch
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moras
mesh_terms: D000494:Allosteric Regulation; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005291:Ferrichrome / Q000378:metabolism*; D008024:Ligands; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011991:Receptors, Virus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C050900:FhuA protein, E coli; D008024:Ligands; D011991:Receptors, Virus; D005291:Ferrichrome