A Key Motif in the Cholesterol-Dependent Cytolysins Reveals a Large Family of Related Proteins
Jordan C. Evans, Bronte A. Johnstone, Sara L. Lawrence, Craig J. Morton, Michelle P. Christie, Michael W. Parker, Rodney K. Tweten
Abstract
The cholesterol-dependent cytolysins' pore-forming mechanism relies on the ability to sense the completion of the oligomeric prepore structure and initiate the insertion of the β-barrel pore from the assembled prepore structure. These studies show that a conserved motif is an important component of the sensor that triggers the prepore-to-pore transition and that it is conserved in a large family of previously unidentified CDC-like proteins, the genes for which are present in a vast array of microbial species that span most terrestrial environments, as well as most animal and human microbiomes. These studies establish the foundation for future investigations that will probe the contribution of this large family of CDC-like proteins to microbial survival and human disease.