Sequence-structure relationships in polysaccharide co-polymerase (PCP) proteins.
Polysaccharides are ubiquitously distributed on the cell surface of bacteria. These polymers are involved in many processes, including immune avoidance and bacteria-host interactions, which are especially important for pathogenic organisms. In many instances, the lengths of these polysaccharides are not random, but rather distribute around some mean value, termed the modal length. A large family of proteins, called polysaccharide co-polymerases (PCPs), found in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive species regulate polysaccharide modal length. Recent crystal structures of Wzz proteins from Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium provide the first atomic-resolution information for one family of PCPs, the PCP1 group. These crystal structures have important implications for the structures of other PCP families.
Morona
Renato
R
Australian Bacterial Pathogenesis Program, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, Discipline of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia. renato.morona@adelaide.edu.au
Purins
Leanne
L
Tocilj
Ante
A
Matte
Allan
A
Cygler
Miroslaw
M
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D011134:Polysaccharides