Decoding the stoichiometric composition and organisation of bacterial metabolosomes

Nat Commun. 2020 Apr 24;11(1):1976. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-15888-4.

Abstract

Some enteric bacteria including Salmonella have evolved the propanediol-utilising microcompartment (Pdu MCP), a specialised proteinaceous organelle that is essential for 1,2-propanediol degradation and enteric pathogenesis. Pdu MCPs are a family of bacterial microcompartments that are self-assembled from hundreds of proteins within the bacterial cytosol. Here, we seek a comprehensive understanding of the stoichiometric composition and organisation of Pdu MCPs. We obtain accurate stoichiometry of shell proteins and internal enzymes of the natural Pdu MCP by QconCAT-driven quantitative mass spectrometry. Genetic deletion of the major shell protein and absolute quantification reveal the stoichiometric and structural remodelling of metabolically functional Pdu MCPs. Decoding the precise protein stoichiometry allows us to develop an organisational model of the Pdu metabolosome. The structural insights into the Pdu MCP are critical for both delineating the general principles underlying bacterial organelle formation, structural robustness and function, and repurposing natural microcompartments using synthetic biology for biotechnological applications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Biotechnology
  • Catalysis
  • Cytoplasm / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Metabolomics
  • Mutation
  • Propylene Glycol / pharmacology
  • Protein Conformation
  • Proteomics
  • Salmonella enterica / genetics
  • Salmonella enterica / metabolism*
  • Salmonella typhimurium / genetics
  • Salmonella typhimurium / metabolism*
  • Synthetic Biology

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Propylene Glycol