Structural basis for virulence regulation in Vibrio cholerae by unsaturated fatty acid components of bile
- Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States). Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology; Dartmouth College; Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Hanover, NH (United States).
- Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States). Department of Microbiology and Immunology
- Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
- Dartmouth College; Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Hanover, NH (United States); Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
- Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States). Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology; Dartmouth College; Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Hanover, NH (United States); Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
The AraC/XylS-family transcriptional regulator ToxT is the master virulence activator of Vibrio cholerae, the gram-negative bacterial pathogen that causes the diarrheal disease cholera. Unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) found in bile inhibit the activity of ToxT. Crystal structures of inhibited ToxT bound to UFA or synthetic inhibitors have been reported, but no structure of ToxT in an active conformation had been determined. Here we present the 2.5 Å structure of ToxT without an inhibitor. The structure suggests release of UFA or inhibitor leads to an increase in flexibility, allowing ToxT to adopt an active conformation that is able to dimerize and bind DNA. Small-angle X-ray scattering was used to validate a structural model of an open ToxT dimer bound to the cholera toxin promoter. The results presented here provide a detailed structural mechanism for virulence gene regulation in V. cholerae by the UFA components of bile and other synthetic ToxT inhibitors.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 1624534
- Journal Information:
- Communications Biology, Vol. 2, Issue 1; ISSN 2399-3642
- Publisher:
- Springer NatureCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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