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Structure of peptide sex pheromone receptor PrgX and PrgX/pheromone complexes and regulation of conjugation in Enterococcus faecalis.

ABSTRACT: Many bacterial activities, including expression of virulence factors, horizontal genetic transfer, and production of antibiotics, are controlled by intercellular signaling using small molecules. To date, understanding of the molecular mechanisms of peptide-mediated cell-cell signaling has been limited by a dearth of published information about the molecular structures of the signaling components. Here, we present the molecular structure of PrgX, a DNA- and peptide-binding protein that regulates expression of the conjugative transfer genes of the Enterococcus faecalis plasmid pCF10 in response to an intercellular peptide pheromone signal. Comparison of the structures of PrgX and the PrgX/pheromone complex suggests that pheromone binding destabilizes PrgX tetramers, opening a 70-bp pCF10 DNA loop required for conjugation repression.

SUBMITTER: Shi K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1317922 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Structure of peptide sex pheromone receptor PrgX and PrgX/pheromone complexes and regulation of conjugation in Enterococcus faecalis.

Shi Ke K Brown C Kent CK Gu Zu-Yi ZY Kozlowicz Briana K BK Dunny Gary M GM Ohlendorf Douglas H DH Earhart Cathleen A CA

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20051208 51

Many bacterial activities, including expression of virulence factors, horizontal genetic transfer, and production of antibiotics, are controlled by intercellular signaling using small molecules. To date, understanding of the molecular mechanisms of peptide-mediated cell-cell signaling has been limited by a dearth of published information about the molecular structures of the signaling components. Here, we present the molecular structure of PrgX, a DNA- and peptide-binding protein that regulates ...[more]

PMID: 16339309

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Project description:UnlabelledEnterococci are leading causes of hospital-acquired infection in the United States and continue to develop resistances to new antibiotics. Many Enterococcus faecalis isolates harbor pheromone-responsive plasmids that mediate horizontal transfer of even large blocks of chromosomal genes, resulting in hospital-adapted strains over a quarter of whose genomes consist of mobile elements. Pheromones to which the donor cells respond derive from lipoprotein signal peptides. Using a novel bacterial killing assay dependent on the presence of sex pheromones, we screened a transposon mutant library for functions that relate to the production and/or activity of the effector pheromone. Here we describe a previously uncharacterized, but well-conserved, ABC transporter that contributes to pheromone production. Using three distinct pheromone-dependent mating systems, we show that mutants defective in expressing this transporter display a 5- to 6-order-of-magnitude reduction in conjugation efficiency. In addition, we demonstrate that the ABC transporter mutant displays an altered biofilm architecture, with a significant reduction in biofilm biomass compared to that of its isogenic parent, suggesting that pheromone activity also influences biofilm development. The conservation of this peptide transporter across the Firmicutes suggests that it may also play an important role in cell-cell communication in other species within this important phylum.ImportanceEnterococcus faecalis ranks as one of the leading causes of hospital-associated infections. Strains possessing resistance to multiple antibiotics are becoming all too common in clinical settings. Pheromone-responsive plasmids play an important role in harboring and disseminating these antibiotic resistance genes. Here we have identified a novel ABC transporter that is responsible for the secretion of peptide pheromones, which enables communication between cells to mediate plasmid transfer. We have also shown that this transporter is important for biofilm formation, providing a strong rationale for its use as a viable therapeutic target which could be targeted to curb infection, as well as the spread of existing drug resistance.

Dataset Information

Structure of peptide sex pheromone receptor PrgX and PrgX/pheromone complexes and regulation of conjugation in Enterococcus faecalis.

Publications

Structure of peptide sex pheromone receptor PrgX and PrgX/pheromone complexes and regulation of conjugation in Enterococcus faecalis.

Similar Datasets

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