Journal article
Structure of the conjugation surface exclusion protein TraT
- Abstract:
- Conjugal transfer of plasmids between bacteria is a major route for the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Many conjugative plasmids encode exclusion systems that inhibit redundant conjugation. In incompatibility group F (IncF) plasmids surface exclusion is mediated by the outer membrane protein TraT. Here we report the cryoEM structure of the TraT exclusion protein complex from the canonical F plasmid of Escherichia coli. TraT is a hollow homodecamer shaped like a chef’s hat. In contrast to most outer membrane proteins, TraT spans the outer membrane using transmembrane a-helices. We develop a microscopy-based conjugation assay to probe the effects of directed mutagenesis on TraT. Our analysis provides no support for the idea that TraT has specific interactions with partner proteins. Instead, we infer that TraT is most likely to function by physical interference with conjugation. This work provides structural insight into a natural inhibitor of microbial gene transfer.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 3.3MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1038/s42003-025-09102-8
Authors
+ European Research Council
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/0472cxd90
- Grant:
- 833713
+ Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/00cwqg982
- Grant:
- BB/S007474/1
- Publisher:
- Springer Nature
- Journal:
- Communications Biology More from this journal
- Volume:
- 8
- Issue:
- 1
- Article number:
- 1702
- Publication date:
- 2025-11-26
- Acceptance date:
- 2025-10-20
- DOI:
- EISSN:
-
2399-3642
- Language:
-
English
- Pubs id:
-
2300509
- Local pid:
-
pubs:2300509
- Deposit date:
-
2025-10-20
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Chen et al
- Copyright date:
- 2025
- Rights statement:
- ©The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commonslicenceandyourintendeduseisnotpermitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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