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Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Vibrio cholerae: Model Organism to Study Bacterial Pathogenesis - Interview
Published on: May 28, 2007
Physiological, Structural, and Functional Analysis of the Paralogous Cation-Proton Antiporters of NhaP Type from
Muntahi Mourin1, Alvan Wai2, Joe O'Neil3
1Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada. mourinm@myumanitoba.ca.
Abstract:
The transmembrane K+/H+ antiporters of NhaP type of Vibrio cholerae (Vc-NhaP1, 2, and 3) are critical for maintenance of K+ homeostasis in the cytoplasm. The entire functional NhaP group is indispensable for the survival of V. cholerae at low pHs suggesting their possible role in the acid tolerance response (ATR) of V. cholerae. Our findings suggest that the Vc-NhaP123 group, and especially its major component, Vc-NhaP2, might be a promising target for the development of novel antimicrobials by narrowly targeting V. cholerae and other NhaP-expressing pathogens. On the basis of Vc-NhaP2 in silico structure modeling, Molecular Dynamics Simulations, and extensive mutagenesis studies, we suggest that the ion-motive module of Vc-NhaP2 is comprised of two functional regions: (i) a putative cation-binding pocket that is formed by antiparallel unfolded regions of two transmembrane segments (TMSs V/XII) crossing each other in the middle of the membrane, known as the NhaA fold; and (ii) a cluster of amino acids determining the ion selectivity.
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