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FliS/flagellin/FliW heterotrimer couples type III secretion and flagellin homeostasis
Florian Altegoer1, Sampriti Mukherjee2, Wieland Steinchen1
1LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology & Dep. of Chemistry, Philipps University Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 6, 35043, Marburg, Germany.
Abstract:
Flagellin is amongst the most abundant proteins in flagellated bacterial species and constitutes the major building block of the flagellar filament. The proteins FliW and FliS serve in the post-transcriptional control of flagellin and guide the protein to the flagellar type III secretion system (fT3SS), respectively. Here, we present the high-resolution structure of FliS/flagellin heterodimer and show that FliS and FliW bind to opposing interfaces located at the N- and C-termini of flagellin. The FliS/flagellin/FliW heterotrimer is able to interact with FlhA-C suggesting that FliW and FliS are released during flagellin export. After release, FliW and FliS are recycled to execute a new round of post-transcriptional regulation and targeting. Taken together, our study provides a mechanism explaining how FliW and FliS synchronize the production of flagellin with the capacity of the fT3SS to secrete flagellin.
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