Intramembrane proteases (IPs) cleave membrane-associated substrates in nearly all organisms and regulate diverse processes. A better understanding of how these enzymes interact with their substrates is necessary for rational design of IP modulators. We show that interaction of IP SpoIVFB with its substrate Pro-σ depends on particular residues in the interdomain linker of SpoIVFB. The linker plus either the N-terminal membrane domain or the C-terminal cystathione-β-synthase (CBS) domain of SpoIVFB was sufficient for the interaction but not for cleavage of Pro-σ Chemical cross-linking and mass spectrometry of purified, inactive SpoIVFB-Pro-σ complex indicated residues of the two proteins in proximity. A structural model of the complex was built via partial homology and by using constraints based on cross-linking data. In the model, the Proregion of Pro-σ loops into the membrane domain of SpoIVFB, and the rest of Pro-σ interacts extensively with the linker and the CBS domain of SpoIVFB. The extensive interaction is proposed to allow coordination between ATP binding by the CBS domain and Pro-σ cleavage by the membrane domain.

e Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a human pathogen that resides asymptomatically in its bovine host. The level of Shiga toxin (Stx) produced is variable in bovine-derived strains in contrast to human isolates that mostly produce high levels of Stx. To understand the genetic basis for varied Stx production, chronological collections of bovine isolates from Wisconsin dairy farms, R and X, were analyzed for multilocus prophage polymorphisms, stx 2 subtypes, and the levels of stx 2 transcript and toxin. The E. coli O157:H7 that persisted on both farms were phylogenetically distinct and yet produced little to no Stx2 due to gene deletions in Stx2c-encoding prophage (farm R) or insertional inactivation of stx 2a by IS1203v (farm X). Loss of key regulatory and lysis genes in Stx2c-encoding prophage abolished stx 2c transcription and induction of the prophage and stx 2a ::IS1203v in Stx2a-encoding prophage generated a truncated stx 2a mRNA without affecting phage production. Stx2-producing strains were transiently present (farm R) and became Stx2 negative on farm X (i.e., stx 2a ::IS1203v). To our knowledge, this is the first study that details the evolution of E. coli O157:H7 and its Stx2-encoding prophage in a chronological collection of natural isolates. The data suggest the bovine and farm environments can be niches where Stx2-negative E. coli O157:H7 emerge and persist, which explains the Stx variability in bovine isolates and may be part of an evolutionary step toward becoming bovine specialists.

Caulobacter crescentus is a Gram-negative alphaproteobacterium that commonly lives in oligotrophic fresh- and saltwater environments. C. crescentus is a host to many bacteriophages, including ϕCbK and ϕCbK-like bacteriophages, which require interaction with the bacterial flagellum and pilus complexes during adsorption. It is commonly thought that the six paralogs of the flagellin gene present in C. crescentus are important for bacteriophage evasion. Here, we show that deletion of specific flagellins in C. crescentus can indeed attenuate ϕCbK adsorption efficiency, although no single deletion completely ablates ϕCbK adsorption. Thus, the bacteriophage ϕCbK likely recognizes a common motif among the six known flagellins in C. crescentus with various degrees of efficiency. Interestingly, we observe that most deletion strains still generate flagellar filaments, with the exception of a strain that contains only the most divergent flagellin, FljJ, or a strain that contains only FljN and FljO. To visualize the surface residues that are likely recognized by ϕCbK, we determined two high-resolution structures of the FljK filament, with and without an amino acid substitution that induces straightening of the filament. We observe posttranslational modifications on conserved surface threonine residues of FljK that are likely O-linked glycans. The possibility of interplay between these modifications and ϕCbK adsorption is discussed. We also determined the structure of a filament composed of a heterogeneous mixture of FljK and FljL, the final resolution of which was limited to approximately 4.6 Å. Altogether, this work builds a platform for future investigations of how phage ϕCbK infects C. crescentus at the molecular level. IMPORTANCE Bacterial flagellar filaments serve as an initial attachment point for many bacteriophages to bacteria. Some bacteria harbor numerous flagellin genes and are therefore able to generate flagellar filaments with complex compositions, which is thought to be important for evasion from bacteriophages. This study characterizes the importance of the six flagellin genes in C. crescentus for infection by bacteriophage ϕCbK. We find that filaments containing the FljK flagellin are the preferred substrate for bacteriophage ϕCbK. We also present a high-resolution structure of a flagellar filament containing only the FljK flagellin, which provides a platform for future studies on determining how bacteriophage ϕCbK attaches to flagellar filaments at the molecular level.

Intramembrane metalloproteases (IMMPs) are conserved from bacteria to humans and control many important signaling pathways, but little is known about how IMMPs interact with their substrates. SpoIVFB is an IMMP that cleaves Pro-K during Bacillus subtilis endospore formation. When catalytically inactive SpoIVFB was coexpressed with C-terminally truncated Pro-K (1-126) (which can be cleaved by active SpoIVFB) in Escherichia coli, the substrate dramatically improved solubilization of the enzyme from membranes with mild detergents. Both the Pro(1-20) and K (21-126) parts contributed to improving SpoIVFB solubilization from membranes, but only the K part was needed to form a stable complex with SpoIVFB in a pulldown assay. The last 10 residues of SpoIVFB were required for improved solubilization from membranes by Pro-K (1-126) and for normal interaction with the substrate. The inactive SpoIVFB⅐Pro-K (1-126)-His 6 complex was stable during affinity purification and gel filtration chromatography. Disulfide cross-linking of the purified complex indicated that it resembled the complex formed in vivo. Ion mobility-mass spectrometry analysis resulted in an observed mass consistent with a 4:2 SpoIVFB⅐Pro-K (1-126)-His 6 complex. Stepwise photobleaching of SpoIVFB fused to a fluorescent protein supported the notion that the enzyme is tetrameric during B. subtilis sporulation. The results provide the first evidence that an IMMP acts as a tetramer, give new insights into how SpoIVFB interacts with its substrate, and lay the foundation for further biochemical analysis of the enzyme⅐substrate complex and future structural studies.Many critical cellular processes are regulated by intramembrane proteolysis (1). Intramembrane proteases (IPs) 3 cleave their substrates within a transmembrane segment (TMS) or near the membrane surface. There are three classes of IPs: rhomboids, aspartyl IPs, and IMMPs (often called site-2 proteases or S2Ps). Rhomboids are serine IPs that promote animal cellular signaling, coordinate bacterial quorum sensing, regulate mitochondrial homeostasis, and control protozoan infection (2-5). Presenilin, an aspartyl IP, is the catalytic component of ␥-secretase, which is involved in the processing of the amyloid precursor protein, Notch, and many other subtrates (6, 7). Dysfunction of ␥-secretase contributes to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (8) and many other diseases (7). Aspartyl IPs also include preflagellin and prepilin peptidases involved in bacterial pathogenesis (9), and signal peptide peptidases, which facilitate the clearance of signal peptides from membranes, participate in viral infection, and generate small peptides as signal molecules for immune systems (10, 11). IMMPs also play critical roles in a wide variety of biological functions. In eukaryotes, cholesterol metabolism, the unfolded protein response, and the acute-phase response are regulated by IMMPs (1, 12, 13). In bacteria, IMMPs control sporulation, envelope stress responses, mating signal production, polar morphogenesis, virulence, ...

Imaging large fields of view while preserving high-resolution structural information remains a challenge in low-dose cryo-electron tomography. Here, we present robust tools for montage electron tomography tailored for vitrified specimens. The integration of correlative cryo-fluorescence microscopy, focused-ion beam milling, and micropatterning produces contextual three-dimensional architecture of cells. Montage tilt series may be processed in their entirety or as individual tiles suitable for sub-tomogram averaging, enabling efficient data processing and analysis.