An Anomalous Type IV Secretion System in Rickettsia Is Evolutionarily Conserved

Bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) comprise a diverse transporter family functioning in conjugation, competence, and effector molecule (DNA and/or protein) translocation. Thirteen genome sequences from Rickettsia, obligate intracellular symbionts/pathogens of a wide range of eukaryotes, have revealed a reduced T4SS relative to the Agrobacterium tumefaciens archetype (vir). However, the Rickettsia T4SS has not been functionally characterized for its role in symbiosis/virulence, and none of its substrates are known.Superimposition of T4SS structural/functional information over previously identified Rickettsia components implicate a functional Rickettsia T4SS. virB4, virB8 and virB9 are duplicated, yet only one copy of each has the conserved features of similar genes in other T4SSs. An extraordinarily duplicated VirB6 gene encodes five hydrophobic proteins conserved only in a short region known to be involved in DNA transfer in A. tumefaciens. virB1, virB2 and virB7 are newly identified, revealing a Rickettsia T4SS lacking only virB5 relative to the vir archetype. Phylogeny estimation suggests vertical inheritance of all components, despite gene rearrangements into an archipelago of five islets. Similarities of Rickettsia VirB7/VirB9 to ComB7/ComB9 proteins of epsilon-proteobacteria, as well as phylogenetic affinities to the Legionella lvh T4SS, imply the Rickettsiales ancestor acquired a vir-like locus from distantly related bacteria, perhaps while residing in a protozoan host. Modern modifications of these systems likely reflect diversification with various eukaryotic host cells.We present the rvh (Rickettsiales vir homolog) T4SS, an evolutionary conserved transporter with an unknown role in rickettsial biology. This work lays the foundation for future laboratory characterization of this system, and also identifies the Legionella lvh T4SS as a suitable genetic model

The VirE1VirE2 complex of Agrobacterium tumefaciens interacts with single-stranded DNA and forms channels

The VirE2 protein is crucial for the transfer of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) from Agrobacterium tumefaciens to the nucleus of the plant host cell because of its ssDNA binding activity, assistance in nuclear import and putative ssDNA channel activity. The native form of VirE2 in Agrobacterium's cytoplasm is in complex with its specific chaperone, VirE1. Here, we describe the ability of the VirE1VirE2 complex to both bind ssDNA and form channels. The affinity of the VirE1VirE2 complex for ssDNA is slightly reduced compared with VirE2, but the kinetics of binding to ssDNA are unaffected by the presence of VirE1. Upon binding of VirE1VirE2 to ssDNA, similar helical structures to those reported for the VirE2-ssDNA complex were observed by electron microscopy. The VirE1VirE2 complex can release VirE1 once the VirE2-ssDNA complexes assembled. VirE2 exhibits a low affinity for small unilamellar vesicles composed of bacterial lipids and a high affinity for lipid vesicles containing sterols and sphingolipids, typical components of animal and plant membranes. In contrast, the VirE1VirE2 complex associated similarly with all kind of lipids. Finally, black lipid membrane experiments revealed the ability of the VirE1VirE2 complex to form channels. However, the majority of the channels displayed a conductance that was a third of the conductance of VirE2 channels. Our results demonstrate that the binding of VirE1 to VirE2 does not inhibit VirE2 functions and that the effector-chaperone complex is multifunctional

Functional expression of mammalian receptors and membrane channels in different cells

In native tissues, the majority of medically important membrane proteins is only present at low concentrations, making their overexpression in recombinant systems a prerequisite for structural studies. Here, we explore the commonly used eukaryotic expression systems-yeast, baculovirus/insect cells (Sf9) and Semliki Forest Virus (SFV)/mammalian cells-for the expression of seven different eukaryotic membrane proteins from a variety of protein families. The expression levels, quality, biological activity, localization and solubility of all expressed proteins are compared in order to identify the advantages of one system over the other. SFV-transfected mammalian cell lines provide the closest to native environment for the expression of mammalian membrane proteins, and they exhibited the best overall performance. But depending on the protein, baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells performed almost as well as mammalian cells. The lowest expression levels for the proteins tested here were obtained in yeast

Conjugative DNA transfer into human cells by the VirB/VirD4 type IV secretion system of the bacterial pathogen Bartonella henselae

Bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SS) mediate interbacterial conjugative DNA transfer and transkingdom protein transfer into eukaryotic host cells in bacterial pathogenesis. The sole bacterium known to naturally transfer DNA into eukaryotic host cells via a T4SS is the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Here we demonstrate T4SS-mediated DNA transfer from a human bacterial pathogen into human cells. We show that the zoonotic pathogen Bartonella henselae can transfer a cryptic plasmid occurring in the bartonellae into the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926 via its T4SS VirB/VirD4. DNA transfer into EA.hy926 cells was demonstrated by using a reporter derivative of this Bartonella-specific mobilizable plasmid generated by insertion of a eukaryotic egfp-expression cassette. Fusion of the C-terminal secretion signal of the endogenous VirB/VirD4 protein substrate BepD with the plasmid-encoded DNA-transport protein Mob resulted in a 100-fold increased DNA transfer rate. Expression of the delivered egfp gene in EA.hy926 cells required cell division, suggesting that nuclear envelope breakdown may facilitate passive entry of the transferred ssDNA into the nucleus as prerequisite for complementary strand synthesis and transcription of the egfp gene. Addition of an eukaryotic neomycin phosphotransferase expression cassette to the reporter plasmid facilitated selection of stable transgenic EA.hy926 cell lines that display chromosomal integration of the transferred plasmid DNA. Our data suggest that T4SS-dependent DNA transfer into host cells may occur naturally during human infection with Bartonella and that these chronically infecting pathogens have potential for the engineering of in vivo gene-delivery vectors with applications in DNA vaccination and therapeutic gene therapy

Crystal structure of the Agrobacterium virulence complex VirE1-VirE2 reveals a flexible protein that can accommodate different partners

Agrobacterium tumefaciens infects its plant hosts by a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer. This capability has led to its widespread use in artificial genetic transformation. In addition to DNA, the bacterium delivers an abundant ssDNA binding protein, VirE2, whose roles in the host include protection from cytoplasmic nucleases and adaptation for nuclear import. In Agrobacterium, VirE2 is bound to its acidic chaperone VirE1. When expressed in vitro in the absence of VirE1, VirE2 is prone to oligomerization and forms disordered filamentous aggregates. These filaments adopt an ordered solenoidal form in the presence of ssDNA, which was characterized previously by electron microscopy and three-dimensional image processing. VirE2 coexpressed in vitro with VirE1 forms a soluble heterodimer. VirE1 thus prevents VirE2 oligomerization and competes with its binding to ssDNA. We present here a crystal structure of VirE2 in complex with VirE1, showing that VirE2 is composed of two independent domains presenting a novel fold, joined by a flexible linker. Electrostatic interactions with VirE1 cement the two domains of VirE2 into a locked form. Comparison with the electron microscopy structure indicates that the VirE2 domains adopt different relative orientations. We suggest that the flexible linker between the domains enables VirE2 to accommodate its different binding partners

Cre Reporter Assay for Translocation (CRAfT): A Tool for the Study of Protein Translocation into Host Cells

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Phase behavior of mixed Langmuir monolayers from amphiphilic block copolymers and an antimicrobial peptide

The behavior of binary monolayers from PMOXA-PDMS-PMOXA triblock copolymers and alamethicin, an antimicrobial peptide, was investigated in the context of formation of novel biocomposite nanostructured materials. The properties of mixed monolayers were studied by surface pressure-area isotherms and Brewster angle imaging. As reported previously, functionality of alamethicin relies on its aggregation properties in lipid mono- and bilayers. This is also the case in polymer matrixes, however, here the mixing properties differ from lipid-peptide systems due to the polymers' structural specificity. The peptide influence on the polymer films is provided in detail for the first time, and supported by the compressibility data to assess the elastic properties of such composite membranes. [on SciFinder (R)