The gain-of-function allele bamAE470K bypasses the essential requirement for BamD in β-barrel outer membrane protein assembly

Elizabeth M. Har, Meera Gupta, Martin Wühr, Thomas J. Silhavy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

The outer membrane (OM) of gram-negative bacteria confers innate resistance to toxins and antibiotics. Integral β-barrel outer membrane proteins (OMPs) function to establish and maintain the selective permeability of the OM. OMPs are assembled into the OM by the β-barrel assembly machine (BAM), which is composed of one OMP-BamA-and four lipoproteins-BamB, C, D, and E. BamB, C, and E can be removed individually with only minor effects on barrier function; however, depletion of either BamA or BamD causes a global defect in OMP assembly and results in cell death. We have identified a gain-of-function mutation, bamAE470K, that bypasses the requirement for BamD. Although bamD::kan bamAE470K cells exhibit growth and OM barrier defects, they assemble OMPs with surprising robustness. Our results demonstrate that BamD does not play a catalytic role in OMP assembly, but rather functions to regulate the activity of BamA.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)18737-18743
Number of pages7
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume117
Issue number31
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 4 2020

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

Keywords

  • Bam complex
  • Omp assembly
  • Outer membrane biogenesis

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