Bacterial chemoreceptor arrays are hexagonally packed trimers of receptor dimers networked by rings of kinase and coupling proteins
10.1073/pnas.1115719109
Crossref journal-article
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (341)
Abstract

Chemoreceptor arrays are supramolecular transmembrane machines of unknown structure that allow bacteria to sense their surroundings and respond by chemotaxis. We have combined X-ray crystallography of purified proteins with electron cryotomography of native arrays inside cells to reveal the arrangement of the component transmembrane receptors, histidine kinases (CheA) and CheW coupling proteins. Trimers of receptor dimers lie at the vertices of a hexagonal lattice in a “two-facing-two” configuration surrounding a ring of alternating CheA regulatory domains (P5) and CheW couplers. Whereas the CheA kinase domains (P4) project downward below the ring, the CheA dimerization domains (P3) link neighboring rings to form an extended, stable array. This highly interconnected protein architecture underlies the remarkable sensitivity and cooperative nature of transmembrane signaling in bacterial chemotaxis.

Bibliography

Briegel, A., Li, X., Bilwes, A. M., Hughes, K. T., Jensen, G. J., & Crane, B. R. (2012). Bacterial chemoreceptor arrays are hexagonally packed trimers of receptor dimers networked by rings of kinase and coupling proteins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(10), 3766–3771.

Authors 6
  1. Ariane Briegel (first)
  2. Xiaoxiao Li (additional)
  3. Alexandrine M. Bilwes (additional)
  4. Kelly T. Hughes (additional)
  5. Grant J. Jensen (additional)
  6. Brian R. Crane (additional)
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Dates
Type When
Created 13 years, 6 months ago (Feb. 21, 2012, 10:21 p.m.)
Deposited 3 years, 2 months ago (June 7, 2022, 4:33 a.m.)
Indexed 1 week, 2 days ago (Aug. 12, 2025, 6:06 p.m.)
Issued 13 years, 6 months ago (Feb. 21, 2012)
Published 13 years, 6 months ago (Feb. 21, 2012)
Published Online 13 years, 6 months ago (Feb. 21, 2012)
Published Print 13 years, 5 months ago (March 6, 2012)
Funders 0

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@article{Briegel_2012, title={Bacterial chemoreceptor arrays are hexagonally packed trimers of receptor dimers networked by rings of kinase and coupling proteins}, volume={109}, ISSN={1091-6490}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1115719109}, DOI={10.1073/pnas.1115719109}, number={10}, journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, publisher={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, author={Briegel, Ariane and Li, Xiaoxiao and Bilwes, Alexandrine M. and Hughes, Kelly T. and Jensen, Grant J. and Crane, Brian R.}, year={2012}, month=feb, pages={3766–3771} }