Identification and characterization of two functional domains of the hemolysin translocator protein HlyD

Secretion of Escherichia coli hemolysin is mediated by a sec-independent pathway which requires the products of at least three genes, hlyB, hlyD and tolC. Two regions of HlyD were studied. The first region (region A), consisting of the 33-amino acid, C-terminal part of the HlyD protein, is predicted to form a potential helix-loop-helix structure. This sequence is conserved among HlyD analogues of similar transport systems of other bacterial species. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we showed that the amino acids Leu475, Glu477 and Arg478 of this region are essential for HlyD function. The last amino acid of HlyD, Arg478, is possibly involved in the release of the HlyA protein, since cells bearing a hlyD gene mutant at this position produce similar amounts of HlyA to the wild-type strain, but most of the protein remains cell-associated. Competition experiments between wild-type and mutant HlyD proteins indicate that region A interacts directly with a component of the secretion apparatus. The second region of HlyD (region B), located between amino acids Leu127 and Leu170, is highly homologous to the otherwise unrelated outer membrane protein TolC. Deletion of this region abolishes secretion of hemolysin. This sequence of HlyD also seems to interact with a component of the hemolysin secretion machinery since a hybrid HlyD protein carrying the corresponding TolC sequence, although inactive in the transport of HlyA, is able to displace wild-type HlyD from the secretion apparatus.