In situstructures of secretins from bacterial type II secretion system reveal their membrane interactions and translocation process

Abstract

AbstractThe GspD secretin is the outer membrane channel of the bacterial type II secretion system (T2SS) which secrets diverse effector proteins or toxins that cause severe diseases such as diarrhea and cholera. GspD needs to translocate from the inner to the outer membrane to exert its function, and this process is an essential step for T2SS to assemble. Here, we investigate two types of secretins discovered so far inEscherichia coli, GspDαand GspDβ, respectively. By electron cryotomography subtomogram averaging, we determinein situstructures of all the key intermediate states of GspDαand GspDβin the translocation process, with resolution ranging from 9 Å to 19 Å. In our results, GspDαand GspDβpresent entirely different membrane interaction patterns and ways of going across the peptidoglycan layer. We propose two distinct models for the membrane translocation of GspDαand GspDβ, providing a comprehensive perspective on the inner to outer membrane biogenesis of T2SS secretins.