The bacterial porin superfamily: sequence alignment and structure prediction (original) (raw)

Bacterial porins: lessons from three high-resolution structures

Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 1993

The structures of a porin from Rhodobacter capsulatus and two porins from Escherichia coil provide a wealth of information regarding the structure and function of transmembrane pores and extend our rather limited knowledge of the structure of membrane proteins in general. There are also implications for methods used to investigate the topology and properties of membrane proteins and for algorithms used to predict their structure.

Sequence and Structural Perspectives of Bacterial -Stranded Porins

Porins are integral membrane proteins found in the outer membrane of bacteria, mitochondria and chloroplasts. Herein, we have reviewed sequence and structural understanding about bacterial porins. The first porin structure from Rhodobacter capsulatus at 1.8 Å resolution in 1991 till the recent structural advancement , coupled by immunological properties, diffusion and ion permeation has been taken into account In the later part, we have presented our computational analysis of conformational mobility in selected porins. Atomic B-factors (in crystal structures) are indicative of the degree of intrinsic mobility associated with residues and secondary structural elements of a particular protein. We have explored and extended the intrinsic motilities within porins using selected six porins structures. These six porins were collected from PDB and B-factor analyses were performed using AWK scripts. Distributions of residues and mobilities were characteristic of different porins. These distribution patterns follow the level of homology at the sequence and structural level. The inner walls constituting the trimer interface were found to be more rigid than the outer walls. These mobility differences are intrinsic structural components of these porins. Kiel). He obtained his Ph.D. focusing on comparative genomics and molecular evolution of vertebrate serpins. He is involved in genomic, transcriptomic and proteomics analyses from various aspects including scanning drug-like molecules, disease mechanisms, molecular evolution and biodiversity .

In Silico Structure and Sequence Analysis of Bacterial Porins and Specific Diffusion Channels for Hydrophilic Molecules: Conservation, Multimericity and Multifunctionality

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2016

Diffusion channels are involved in the selective uptake of nutrients and form the largest outer membrane protein (OMP) family in Gram-negative bacteria. Differences in pore size and amino acid composition contribute to the specificity. Structure-based multiple sequence alignments shed light on the structure-function relations for all eight subclasses. Entropy-variability analysis results are correlated to known structural and functional aspects, such as structural integrity, multimericity, specificity and biological niche adaptation. The high mutation rate in their surface-exposed loops is likely an important mechanism for host immune system evasion. Multiple sequence alignments for each subclass revealed conserved residue positions that are involved in substrate recognition and specificity. An analysis of monomeric protein channels revealed particular sequence patterns of amino acids that were observed in other classes at multimeric interfaces. This adds to the emerging evidence that all members of the family exist in a multimeric state. Our findings are important for understanding the role of members of this family in a wide range of bacterial processes, including bacterial food uptake, survival and adaptation mechanisms.

Protein-translocating outer membrane porins of Gram-negative bacteria

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, 2002

Five families of outer membrane porins that function in protein secretion in Gram-negative bacteria are currently recognized. In this report, these five porin families are analyzed from structural and phylogenetic standpoints. They are the fimbrial usher protein (FUP), outer membrane factor (OMF), autotransporter (AT), two-partner secretion (TPS) and outer membrane secretin (Secretin) families. All members of these families in the current databases were identified, and all full-length homologues were multiply aligned for structural and phylogenetic analyses. The organismal distribution of homologues in each family proved to be unique with some families being restricted to proteobacteria and others being widespread in other bacterial kingdoms as well as eukaryotes. The compositions of and size differences between subfamilies provide evidence for specific orthologous relationships, which agree with available functional information and intra-subfamily phylogeny. The results reveal that horizontal transfer of genes encoding these proteins between phylogenetically distant organisms has been exceptionally rare although transfer within select bacterial kingdoms may have occurred. The resultant in silico analyses are correlated with available experimental evidence to formulate models relevant to the structures and evolutionary origins of these proteins. D in Gram-negative bacteria. Three of these four families have been analyzed previously, the fimbrial usher protein (FUP) family [12 -14], the outer membrane factor (OMF) family [15 -17] and the autotransporter (AT) family . The fourth family, the two-partner secretion (TPS) family, has not, to our knowledge, been carefully examined from a phylogenetic standpoint . In this communication, we provide updates of the five families of outer membrane porins that are believed to function in the export of proteins via homooligomeric structures.

Multiple facets of bacterial porins

FEMS Microbiology Letters, 2000

Porins form channels allowing the transport of molecules across lipid bilayer membranes. Their structure, location and large number on the bacterial surface lend them multiple functions. Porin loops are potential targets for adhesion to other cells and binding of bactericidal compounds to the surface of Gram-negative bacteria. Variation of the loop structure as a mechanism to escape immune pressure, or modulation of the porin expression in response to the presence of antibiotics, are survival strategies developed by some pathogenic bacteria. Porins may play a significant role as pathogenesis effectors. ß

Structure of the porin from a bacterial stalk

FEBS Letters, 1987

The stalks (hyphae) of a prosthecate bacterium, directly sampled from the water surface of a hot pond, show extended regular patterns on their envelope in the electron microscope. Image processing revealed a structure of the crystalline complexes which is very similar to the gross morphology of the Escherichia coli porins OmpC and OmpF. The natural two-dimensional crystal of the outer membrane protein has p3 symmetry and a lattice constant of 7.95 nm. The three-dimensional structure of the stalk porin has been determined to an almost isotropic resolution of 1.7 nm. The reconstruction revealed a complex network of channels within the membrane matrix with a triplet of pores merging into a common outlet, similar to the structure of the E. coli porin OmpF in reconstituted membranes. In addition, a blindly ending pore exists which appears to be connected to the continuous pores via small channels. The significance of the regularly arrayed porin cylinders with respect to the shape and function of the stalks is discussed.

Ion selectivity of gram-negative bacterial porins

Journal of Bacteriology, 1985

Twelve different porins from the gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Yersinia pestis were reconstituted into lipid bilayer membranes. Most of the porins, except outer membrane protein P, formed large, water-filled, ion-permeable channels with a single-channel conductance between 1.5 and 6 nS in 1 M KCl. The ions used for probing the pore structure had the same relative mobilities while moving through the porin pore as they did while moving in free solution. Thus the single-channel conductances of the individual porins could be used to estimate the effective channel diameters of these porins, yielding values ranging from 1.0 to 2.0 nm. Zero-current potential measurements in the presence of salt gradients across lipid bilayer membranes containing individual porins gave results that were consistent with the conclusions drawn from the single-channel experiments. For all porins except protein P, the channels exhibited a greater cat...

Description of Complex Forms of a Porin in Bacteroides fragilis and Possible Implication of this Protein in Antibiotic Resistance

Anaerobe, 2001

Periodic surveys of antibiotic susceptibility patterns among anaerobes have emphasized that new mechanisms of resistance have emerged, especially in the Bacteroides fragilis group. Resistance to the combination of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid among some imipenem-susceptible Bacteroides fragilis strains has been associated with modifications in outer membrane protein electrophoretic patterns with the loss of some porin-like proteins. Porins are outer membrane proteins that play a major part in membrane permeability; if they are under-expressed, they can be responsible for antibiotic resistance. In a previous work, we isolated one outer membrane protein of 45 kDa from Bacteroides fragilis and showed its porin activity. In the present study, we aim to isolate the different complex forms of this protein and to underline their possible role in antibiotic resistance. We therefore compared the electrophoretic patterns of the outer membrane proteins of several strains of Bacteroides fragilis. Although these patterns are similar to each other, some proteins, especially those of high molecular weight, are less visible in the samples heated before electrophoresis. We targeted these high molecular weight proteins (which appeared sensitive to heat) and isolated them by electro-elution. We thus identified two high molecular weight proteins (210 and 130/135 kDa) which seemed to be components of a complex including the 45 kDa outer membrane protein formerly identified by us as a porin protein. Their porin activities were tested by the swelling assay of proteoliposomes which showed that the 210 kDa protein behaved like the 45 kDa protein whereas the 130/135 kDa protein had less porin activity. Furthermore, swelling assays with antibiotic solutions made it possible to compute the role of this protein complex in antibiotic resistance.