title: The N-terminal hydrophobic segment of Streptomyces coelicolor FtsY forms a transmembrane structure to stabilize its membrane localization.
abstract: FtsY is the receptor of the signal recognition particle that mediates the targeting of integral membrane proteins in bacteria. It was shown that in Escherichia coli, the N-terminal region of FtsY contributes to its interaction with the membrane, but it is not inserted into the membrane. However, this study presents evidence that in Streptomyces coelicolor, FtsY has a hydrophobic region at its N-terminus, which forms a membrane insertion structure and contributes significantly to the binding between FtsY and membrane. Through membrane protein extraction followed by immunoblotting, we demonstrated that deletion of the N-terminal residues 11-39 from the S. coelicolor FtsY (ScFtsY) drastically reduced its membrane-binding capability and that the N-terminus of ScFtsY alone was capable of targeting the soluble EGFP protein onto the membrane with high efficiency. Furthermore, in a labeling experiment with the membrane-impermeable probe Mal-PEG, the ScFtsY N-terminal region was protected by the membrane and was not labeled. This observation indicates that this region was inserted into the membrane.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xueling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Shanzhen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yiling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Xuming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Yongquan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D021381:Protein Transport; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D048372:Streptomyces coelicolor / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C087406:FtsY protein, Bacteria; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear