title: Sequence-structure relationships in polysaccharide co-polymerase (PCP) proteins.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morona
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Purins
authors.forename: Ante
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tocilj
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matte
authors.forename: Miroslaw
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cygler
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D011134:Polysaccharides