Structural Characterization of TssL from Acinetobacter baumannii: a Key Component of the Type VI Secretion System

Abstract

Several Acinetobacter species carry one functional type VI secretion system (T6SS). The T6SS is encoded in a single locus containing 16 conserved genes, most of which code for proteins essential to T6SS activity. One of these key components is TssL, a cytoplasmic protein bound to the inner membrane. Despite its importance and its particular characteristics, the structure of T6SS in A. baumannii remains understudied. Here, we present structural, in silico , and in vivo studies of TssL, highlighting the importance of two well-conserved residues and improving our understanding of this secretion system in this bacterium.