Intermembrane crosstalk drives inner-membrane protein organization in Escherichia coli

Patrice Rassam, Kathleen R. Long, Renata Kaminska, David J. Williams, Grigorios Papadakos, Christoph G. Baumann (Lead / Corresponding author), Colin Kleanthous (Lead / Corresponding author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)
267 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Gram-negative bacteria depend on energised protein complexes that connect the two membranes of the cell envelope. However, β-barrel outer-membrane proteins (OMPs) and α-helical inner-membrane proteins (IMPs) display quite different organisation. OMPs cluster into islands that restrict their lateral mobility, while IMPs generally diffuse throughout the cell. Here, using live cell imaging of Escherichia coli, we demonstrate that when transient, energy-dependent transmembrane connections are formed, IMPs become subjugated by the inherent organisation of OMPs and that such connections impact IMP function. We show that while establishing a translocon for import, the colicin ColE9 sequesters the IMPs of the proton motive force (PMF)-linked Tol-Pal complex into islands mirroring those of colicin-bound OMPs. Through this imposed organisation, the bacteriocin subverts the outer-membrane stabilising role of Tol-Pal, blocking its recruitment to cell division sites and slowing membrane constriction. The ordering of IMPs by OMPs via an energised inter-membrane bridge represents an emerging functional paradigm in cell envelope biology.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1082
Pages (from-to)1-8
Number of pages8
JournalNature Communications
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Mar 2018

Keywords

  • Journal article
  • Biological fluorescence
  • Cellular microbiology
  • Membrane structure and assembly

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy
  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology

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