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Crystallographic snapshot of cellulose synthesis and membrane translocation

Abstract

Cellulose, the most abundant biological macromolecule, is an extracellular, linear polymer of glucose molecules. It represents an essential component of plant cell walls but is also found in algae and bacteria. In bacteria, cellulose production frequently correlates with the formation of biofilms, a sessile, multicellular growth form. Cellulose synthesis and transport across the inner bacterial membrane is mediated by a complex of the membrane-integrated catalytic BcsA subunit and the membrane-anchored, periplasmic BcsB protein. Here we present the crystal structure of a complex of BcsA and BcsB from Rhodobacter sphaeroides containing a translocating polysaccharide. The structure of the BcsA–BcsB translocation intermediate reveals the architecture of the cellulose synthase, demonstrates how BcsA forms a cellulose-conducting channel, and suggests a model for the coupling of cellulose synthesis and translocation in which the nascent polysaccharide is extended by one glucose molecule at a time.

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Figure 1: Architecture of the BcsA–BcsB complex.
Figure 2: Organization of BcsA’s catalytic site and PilZ domain.
Figure 3: The membrane-integrated domain of BcsA–BcsB.
Figure 4: Organization of the periplasmic domain.
Figure 5: Proposed model for cellulose synthesis and translocation.

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Protein Data Bank

Data deposits

The atomic coordinates and structure factors have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank under accession number 4HG6.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to G. Murshudov for advice on Refmac refinement and U. and Z. Derewenda for discussions. We thank L. Tamm, M. Wiener, A. Walling and T. Rapoport for critical comments on the manuscript. X-ray diffraction data were collected at GM/CA- and Southeast Regional-Collaborative Access Team beamlines at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory. Use of the APS was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, contract no. DE-AC02-06CH11357 and W-31-109-Eng-38. GM/CA at APS has been funded in whole or in part with funds from the National Cancer Institute (Y1-CO-1020) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (Y1-GM-1104). The University of Georgia CCRC is supported by the Department of Energy funded Center for Plant and Microbial Complex Carbohydrates (DE-FG02-09ER-20097). J.L.W.M. is partially supported by a Peach Fellowship, University of Virginia. J.Z. is support by NIH grant 1R01GM101001 and start-up funds from the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

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J.Z. designed the experiments. J.L.W.M. and J.Z. expressed, purified and crystallized the BcsA–BcsB complex. J.L.W.M. and J.Z. analysed the crystallographic data and built the model. J.S. performed in vitro cellulose synthesis assays. J.L.W.M. and J.Z. wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jochen Zimmer.

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Morgan, J., Strumillo, J. & Zimmer, J. Crystallographic snapshot of cellulose synthesis and membrane translocation. Nature 493, 181–186 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11744

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