A hidden state in the turnover of a functioning membrane protein complex

Sci Adv. 2019 Mar 20;5(3):eaau6885. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aau6885. eCollection 2019 Mar.

Abstract

Most membrane proteins exist in complexes that carry out critical cellular functions and exhibit rich dynamics. The bacterial flagellar motor, a large membrane-spanning ion-driven rotary motor that propels the bacteria to swim, provides a canonical example. Rotation of the motor is driven by multiple torque-generating units (stators). Turnover of the stators has been shown previously, demonstrating the exchange of stator units between the motor and a membrane pool. But the details of the turnover kinetics remain unclear. Here, we directly measured the kinetics of stator turnover in individual motors via analysis of a large dataset of long-term high-resolution recordings of motor speed at high load. We found that the dwell time distribution of the stator units exhibits a multi-exponential shape, suggesting the existence of a hidden state in the turnover of the stators.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Escherichia coli / chemistry
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Flagella / chemistry
  • Flagella / genetics*
  • Kinetics
  • Membrane Proteins / chemistry*
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Molecular Motor Proteins / chemistry*
  • Molecular Motor Proteins / genetics
  • Multiprotein Complexes / chemistry
  • Multiprotein Complexes / genetics
  • Rotation
  • Sodium / metabolism
  • Torque

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Molecular Motor Proteins
  • Multiprotein Complexes
  • Sodium