The late steps in assembly of capsular polysaccharides (CPS) and their translocation to the bacterial cell surface are not well understood. The Wza protein was shown previously to be required for the formation of the prototype group 1 capsule structure on the surface of Escherichia coli serotype K30 (Drummelsmith, J., and Whitfield, C. (2000) EMBO J. 19, 57-66). Wza is a conserved outer membrane lipoprotein that forms multimers adopting a ringlike structure, and collective evidence suggests a role for these structures in the export of capsular polymer across the outer membrane. Wza was purified in the native form and with a C-terminal hexahistidine tag. Wza His 6 was acylated and functional in capsule assembly, although its efficiency was slightly reduced in comparison to the native Wza protein. Ordered two-dimensional crystals of Wza His 6 were obtained after reconstitution of purified multimers into lipids. Electron microscopy of negatively stained crystals and Fourier filtering revealed ringlike multimers with an average outer diameter of 8.84 nm and an average central cavity diameter of 2.28 nm. Single particle analysis yielded projection structures at an estimated resolution of 3 nm, favoring a structure for the Wza His 6 containing eight identical subunits. A derivative of Wza (Wza*) in which the original signal sequence was replaced with that from OmpF showed that the native acylated N terminus of Wza is critical for formation of normal multimeric structures and for their competence for CPS assembly, but not for targeting Wza to the outer membrane. In the presence of Wza*, CPS accumulated in the periplasm but was not detected on the cell surface. Chemical cross-linking of intact cells suggested formation of a transmembrane complex minimally containing Wza and the inner membrane tyrosine autokinase Wzc.In Gram-negative bacteria, macromolecules destined for the cell surface or the extracellular environment must cross both the inner (IM) 1 and the outer membrane (OM). In protein export, where the processes are arguably best understood, secretion systems with varying complexity accomplish the translocation steps; all involve multi-enzyme complexes where an outer membrane protein (channel) is linked directly, or via helper proteins, to IM components.Cell-associated capsular polysaccharides (CPS) and their secreted (cell-free) counterparts, exopolysaccharides (EPS), represent another type of macromolecule that must be transported across the cell envelope. The early steps in assembly of these polymers are reasonably well established. However, there is little understanding of the terminal steps, including the mechanism by which they cross the bacterial cell envelope and the machinery involved.In Escherichia coli, more than 80 antigenically distinct capsular (K) polysaccharide structures are recognized. They are divided into four groups based on the organization of their genetic loci, polymerization mechanisms, and regulation (1). Group 1 and 2 capsules have received the most attention, and they involve biosynthet...

The surface-exposed outer membrane lipoprotein Wza K30 of E. coli translocates the K30 capsular polysaccharide to the exterior face of the cell. Transmission electron microscopy of negatively stained Wza K30 preparations has shown that Wza K30 peptides assemble into a multimeric ring structure with an apparent central pore large enough to permit the passage of a filamentous polysaccharide [1]. Here we present structural data obtained by using a two-dimensional crystallization approach for integral membrane proteins developed by Lévy et al. [2].