title: Structural basis of chaperone-subunit complex recognition by the type 1 pilus assembly platform FimD.
abstract: Adhesive type 1 pili from uropathogenic Escherichia coli are filamentous protein complexes that are attached to the assembly platform FimD in the outer membrane. During pilus assembly, FimD binds complexes between the chaperone FimC and type 1 pilus subunits in the periplasm and mediates subunit translocation to the cell surface. Here we report nuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray protein structures of the N-terminal substrate recognition domain of FimD (FimD(N)) before and after binding of a chaperone-subunit complex. FimD(N) consists of a flexible N-terminal segment of 24 residues, a structured core with a novel fold, and a C-terminal hinge segment. In the ternary complex, residues 1-24 of FimD(N) specifically interact with both FimC and the subunit, acting as a sensor for loaded FimC molecules. Together with in vivo complementation studies, we show how this mechanism enables recognition and discrimination of different chaperone-subunit complexes by bacterial pilus assembly platforms.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Molekularbiologie und Biophysik, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Hönggerberg, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mireille
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishiyama
authors.forename: Reto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Horst
authors.forename: Oliv
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Eidam
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: Oleksandr
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ignatov
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vetsch
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bettendorff
authors.forename: Ilian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jelesarov
authors.forename: Markus G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Grütter
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wüthrich
authors.forename: Rudi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Glockshuber
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Capitani
mesh_terms: D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli / Q000737:chemistry; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary
chemical_list: D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C489721:fimC protein, E coli; C489283:fimD protein, E coli; C058769:fimH protein, E coli; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins