EMD-5610

Single-particle
9.4 Å
EMD-5610 Deposition: 20/03/2013
Map released: 15/05/2013
Last modified: 28/08/2013
Overview 3D View Sample Experiment Validation Volume Browser Additional data Links
Overview 3D View Sample Experiment Validation Volume Browser Additional data Links

EMD-5610

Structural dynamics and inter-ring communication of the MecA-ClpC protease complex during active substrate unfolding and translocation revealed by cryo-EM

EMD-5610

Single-particle
9.4 Å
EMD-5610 Deposition: 20/03/2013
Map released: 15/05/2013
Last modified: 28/08/2013
Overview 3D View Sample Experiment Validation Volume Browser Additional data Links
Sample Organism: Bacillus subtilis
Sample: MecA-ClpC(E280A,E618A)with ADP
Fitted models: 3j3r (Avg. Q-score: 0.079)

Deposition Authors: Liu J, Mei Z, Li N , Qi Y, Xu Y, Shi Y , Wang F , Lei J, Gao N
Structural dynamics of the MecA-ClpC complex: a type II AAA+ protein unfolding machine.
Liu J, Mei Z, Li N , Qi Y, Xu Y, Shi Y , Wang F , Lei J, Gao N
(2013) J. Biol. Chem. , 288 , 17597 - 17608
Abstract:
The MecA-ClpC complex is a bacterial type II AAA(+) molecular machine responsible for regulated unfolding of substrates, such as transcription factors ComK and ComS, and targeting them to ClpP for degradation. The six subunits of the MecA-ClpC complex form a closed barrel-like structure, featured with three stacked rings and a hollow passage, where substrates are threaded and translocated through successive pores. Although the general concepts of how polypeptides are unfolded and translocated by internal pore loops of AAA(+) proteins have long been conceived, the detailed mechanistic model remains elusive. With cryoelectron microscopy, we captured four different structures of the MecA-ClpC complexes. These complexes differ in the nucleotide binding states of the two AAA(+) rings and therefore might presumably reflect distinctive, representative snapshots from a dynamic unfolding cycle of this hexameric complex. Structural analysis reveals that nucleotide binding and hydrolysis modulate the hexameric complex in a number of ways, including the opening of the N-terminal ring, the axial and radial positions of pore loops, the compactness of the C-terminal ring, as well as the relative rotation between the two nucleotide-binding domain rings. More importantly, our structural and biochemical data indicate there is an active allosteric communication between the two AAA(+) rings and suggest that concerted actions of the two AAA(+) rings are required for the efficiency of the substrate unfolding and translocation. These findings provide important mechanistic insights into the dynamic cycle of the MecA-ClpC unfoldase and especially lay a foundation toward the complete understanding of the structural dynamics of the general type II AAA(+) hexamers.