Inducer exclusion in Firmicutes: insights into the regulation of a carbohydrate ATP binding cassette transporter from Lactobacillus casei BL23 by the signal transducing protein P-Ser46-HPr.
Homburg, C., Bommer, M., Wuttge, S., Hobe, C., Beck, S., Dobbek, H., Deutscher, J., Licht, A., Schneider, E.(2017) Mol Microbiol 105: 25-45
- PubMed: 28370477 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mmi.13680
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
5M28, 5MK9, 5MKA, 5MKB, 5MTT, 5MTU - PubMed Abstract: 
Catabolite repression is a mechanism that enables bacteria to control carbon utilization. As part of this global regulatory network, components of the phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system inhibit the uptake of less favorable sugars when a preferred carbon source such as glucose is available. This process is termed inducer exclusion. In bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes, HPr, phosphorylated at serine 46 (P-Ser46-HPr) is the key player but its mode of action is elusive. To address this question at the level of purified protein components, we have chosen a homolog of the Escherichia coli maltose/maltodextrin ATP-binding cassette transporter from Lactobacillus casei (MalE1-MalF1G1K1 2 ) as a model system. We show that the solute binding protein, MalE1, binds linear and cyclic maltodextrins but not maltose. Crystal structures of MalE1 complexed with these sugars provide a clue why maltose is not a substrate. P-Ser46-HPr inhibited MalE1/maltotetraose-stimulated ATPase activity of the transporter incorporated in proteoliposomes. Furthermore, cross-linking experiments revealed that P-Ser46-HPr contacts the nucleotide-binding subunit, MalK1, in proximity to the Walker A motif. However, P-Ser46-HPr did not block binding of ATP to MalK1. Together, our findings provide first biochemical evidence that P-Ser-HPr arrests the transport cycle by preventing ATP hydrolysis at the MalK1 subunits of the transporter.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Institut für Biologie/Physiologie der Mikroorganismen, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, D-10099, Germany.