Conformational plasticity of the response regulator CpxR, a key player in Gammaproteobacteria virulence and drug-resistance

Abstract

The transcriptional regulator CpxR mediates an adaptive response to envelope stress, tightly linked to virulence and antibiotics resistance in several Gammaproteobacteria pathogens. In this work, we integrated crystallographic and small-angle X-ray scattering data to gain insights into the structure and conformational plasticity of CpxR from Escherichia coli. CpxR dimerizes through two alternative interaction surfaces. Moreover, widely different CpxR conformations coexist in solution, from compact to fully extended ones. The possible functional implications of these structural features are discussed.

Keywords: CpxR; Crystallography; Response regulator; Small-angle X-ray scattering; Two-component systems.