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Ss-bCNGa: a unique member of the bacterial cyclic nucleotide gated (bCNG) channel family that gates in response to mechanical tension

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Abstract

Bacterial cyclic nucleotide gated (bCNG) channels are generally a nonmechanosensitive subset of the mechanosensitive channel of small conductance (MscS) superfamily. bCNG channels are composed of an MscS channel domain, a linking domain, and a cyclic nucleotide binding domain. Among bCNG channels, the channel domain of Ss-bCNGa, a bCNG channel from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, is most identical to Escherichia coli (Ec) MscS. This channel also exhibits limited mechanosensation in response to osmotic downshock assays, making it the only known full-length bCNG channel to respond to hypoosmotic stress. Here, we compare and contrast the ability of Ss-bCNGa to gate in response to mechanical tension with Se-bCNG, a nonmechanosensitive bCNG channel, and Ec-MscS, a prototypical mechanosensitive channel. Compared with Ec-MscS, Ss-bCNGa only exhibits limited mechanosensation, which is most likely a result of the inability of Ss-bCNGa to form the strong lipid contacts needed for significant function. Unlike Ec-MscS, Ss-bCNGa displays a mechanical response that increases with protein expression level, which may result from channel clustering driven by interchannel cation–π interactions.

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Abbreviations

bCNG:

Bacterial cyclic nucleotide gated

MscS:

Mechanosensitive channel of small conductance

E. coli and Ec:

Escherichia coli

cAMP:

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate

MD:

Molecular dynamics

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Paul Blount for MscS in pB10b and Dr. Ian Booth for the MJF465 bacterial strain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA

    Hannah R. Malcolm, David B. Caldwell, John K. McConnell & Joshua A. Maurer

  2. Department of Chemistry, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, 02481, USA

    Yoon-Young Heo, Jessica F. Hawkins, Ryann C. Guayasamin & Donald E. Elmore

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  1. Hannah R. Malcolm
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  2. Yoon-Young Heo
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  7. Donald E. Elmore
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  8. Joshua A. Maurer
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Correspondence to Joshua A. Maurer.

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Malcolm, H.R., Heo, YY., Caldwell, D.B. et al. Ss-bCNGa: a unique member of the bacterial cyclic nucleotide gated (bCNG) channel family that gates in response to mechanical tension. Eur Biophys J 41, 1003–1013 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00249-012-0855-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00249-012-0855-z

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