The secretory S complex in Bacillus subtilis is identified as pyruvate dehydrogenase

We have cloned the operon for the Bacillus subtilis S complex, which has been suggested to be a component of the protein secretion machinery. The S-complex operon was found to encode 4 proteins, which were identified as subunits of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). The Staphylococcus aureus membrane-bound ribosome protein (MBRP) complex has been considered to be a counterpart of the B. subtilis S complex. Here, we sequenced a fragment of the MBRP operon encoding the C-terminal part of E1 beta, the entire E2 and the N-terminal part of the E3 subunit of PDH, thus conclusively confirming the PDH identity of the MBRP complex as well. It appeared unlikely that PDH could be a primary component in protein secretion, thus disproving the previous hypothesis of the role of the S complex. However, attachment of the S complex (PDH) to the membrane and ribosomes may produce a biologically significant interaction.