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Title: Atypical chemoreceptor arrays accommodate high membrane curvature

Journal Article · · Nature Communications

The prokaryotic chemotaxis system is arguably the best-understood signaling pathway in biology. In all previously described species, chemoreceptors organize into a hexagonal (P6 symmetry) extended array. Here, we report an alternative symmetry (P2) of the chemotaxis apparatus that emerges from a strict linear organization of the histidine kinase CheA in Treponema denticola cells, which possesses arrays with the highest native curvature investigated thus far. Using cryo-ET, we reveal that Td chemoreceptor arrays assume an unusual arrangement of the supra-molecular protein assembly that has likely evolved to accommodate the high membrane curvature. The arrays have several atypical features, such as an extended dimerization domain of CheA and a variant CheW-CheR-like fusion protein that is critical for maintaining an ordered chemosensory apparatus. Furthermore, the previously characterized Td oxygen sensor ODP influences CheA ordering. These results suggest a greater diversity of the chemotaxis signaling system than previously thought.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Institutes of Health (NIH); Dutch Research Council (NWO); European Union (EU); National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Grant/Contract Number:
R35GM122535; R01AI078958; R01DE023080; P30 GM124165; S10 RR029205
OSTI ID:
1767227
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1770424
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 11, Issue 1; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH

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