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Molecular mechanism of Mg2+-dependent gating in CorA.

ABSTRACT: CorA is the major transport system responsible for Mg(2+) uptake in bacteria and can functionally substitute for its homologue Mrs2p in the yeast inner mitochondrial membrane. Although several CorA crystal structures are available, the molecular mechanism of Mg(2+) uptake remains to be established. Here we use electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, electrophysiology and molecular dynamic simulations to show that CorA is regulated by cytoplasmic Mg(2+) acting as a ligand and elucidate the basic conformational rearrangements responsible for Mg(2+)-dependent gating. Mg(2+) unbinding at the divalent cation sensor triggers a conformational change that leads to the inward motion of the stalk helix, which propagates to the pore-forming transmembrane helix TM1. Helical tilting and rotation in TM1 generates an iris-like motion that increases the diameter of the permeation pathway, triggering ion conduction. This work establishes the molecular basis of a Mg(2+)-driven negative feedback loop in CorA as the key physiological event controlling Mg(2+) uptake and homeostasis in prokaryotes.

SUBMITTER: Dalmas O

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4066822 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Molecular mechanism of Mg2+-dependent gating in CorA.

Dalmas Olivier O Sompornpisut Pornthep P Bezanilla Francisco F Perozo Eduardo E

Nature communications 20140402

CorA is the major transport system responsible for Mg(2+) uptake in bacteria and can functionally substitute for its homologue Mrs2p in the yeast inner mitochondrial membrane. Although several CorA crystal structures are available, the molecular mechanism of Mg(2+) uptake remains to be established. Here we use electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, electrophysiology and molecular dynamic simulations to show that CorA is regulated by cytoplasmic Mg(2+) acting as a ligand and elucidate the ...[more]

PMID: 24694723

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Project description:LeuT-like fold Na-dependent secondary active transporters form a large family of integral membrane proteins that transport various substrates against their concentration gradient across lipid membranes, using the free energy stored in the downhill concentration gradient of sodium ions. These transporters play an active role in synaptic transmission, the delivery of key nutrients, and the maintenance of osmotic pressure inside the cell. It is generally believed that binding of an ion and/or a substrate drives the conformational dynamics of the transporter. However, the exact mechanism for converting ion binding into useful work has yet to be established. Using a multi-dimensional path sampling (string-method) followed by all-atom free energy simulations, we established the principal thermodynamic and kinetic components governing the ion-dependent conformational dynamics of a LeuT-like fold transporter, the sodium/benzyl-hydantoin symporter Mhp1, for an entire conformational cycle. We found that inward-facing and outward-facing states of Mhp1 display nearly the same free energies with an ion absent from the Na2 site conserved across the LeuT-like fold transporters. The barrier separating an apo-state from inward-facing or outward-facing states of the transporter is very low, suggesting stochastic gating in the absence of ion/substrate bound. In contrast, the binding of a Na2 ion shifts the free energy stabilizing the outward-facing state and promoting substrate binding. Our results indicate that ion binding to the Na2 site may also play a key role in the intracellular thin gate dynamics modulation by altering its interactions with the transmembrane helix 5 (TM5). The Potential of Mean Force (PMF) computations for a substrate entrance displays two energy minima that correspond to the locations of the main binding site S1 and proposed allosteric S2 binding site. However, it was found that substrate's binds to the site S1 ∼5 kcal/mol more favorable than that to the site S2 for all studied bound combinations of ions and a substrate.

Dataset Information

Molecular mechanism of Mg2+-dependent gating in CorA.

Publications

Molecular mechanism of Mg2+-dependent gating in CorA.

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