Assembly Factor Omp85 Recognizes Its Outer Membrane Protein Substrates by a Species-Specific C-Terminal Motif
2006
How Bacteria Use Omp85 to Build Beta Barrels
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Viviane Robert, Jan Tommassen
Hypothesis
The signature sequence is key to gaining entry into Omp85.
Conclusion
Omp85 can selectively exclude non-OMPs and OMPs from other sources while building beta barrels.
Supporting Evidence
- Omp85 forms a voltage-activated channel when reconstituted in an artificial membrane.
- A mutant OMP lacking the proper C-terminal signature sequence was blocked by Omp85.
- A synthetic peptide with the correct C-terminal signature sequence stimulated Omp85 channel activity.
Takeaway
Bacteria have a special way to let certain proteins in to help build structures, and they use a specific code to do it.
Methodology
The researchers reconstituted Escherichia coli Omp85 in vitro and tested its interaction with various OMPs.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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