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Structural and Molecular Biology of Type IV Secretion Systems

Bergé, C; Waksman, G; Terradot, L; (2017) Structural and Molecular Biology of Type IV Secretion Systems. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology , 413 pp. 31-60. 10.1007/978-3-319-75241-9_2. Green open access

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Abstract

Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) are nanomachines that Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, and some archaea use to transport macromolecules across their membranes into bacterial or eukaryotic host targets or into the extracellular milieu. They are the most versatile secretion systems, being able to deliver both proteins and nucleoprotein complexes into targeted cells. By mediating conjugation and/or competence, T4SSs play important roles in determining bacterial genome plasticity and diversity; they also play a pivotal role in the spread of antibiotic resistance within bacterial populations. T4SSs are also used by human pathogens such as Legionella pneumophila, Bordetella pertussis, Brucella sp., or Helicobacter pylori to sustain infection. Since they are essential virulence factors for these important pathogens, T4SSs might represent attractive targets for vaccines and therapeutics. The best-characterized conjugative T4SSs of Gram-negative bacteria are composed of twelve components that are conserved across many T4SSs. In this chapter, we will review our current structural knowledge on the T4SSs by describing the structures of the individual components and how they assemble into large macromolecular assemblies. With the combined efforts of X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and more recently electron microscopy, structural biology of the T4SS has made spectacular progress during the past fifteen years and has unraveled the properties of unique proteins and complexes that assemble dynamically in a highly sophisticated manner.

Type: Article
Title: Structural and Molecular Biology of Type IV Secretion Systems
Location: Germany
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-75241-9_2
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75241-9_2
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Bacterial pilus, Bacterial secretion system, Electron microscopy, Membrane transport, Nanomachine, Virulence factor, X-ray crystallography
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Structural and Molecular Biology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10049824
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