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TonB-dependent energy transduction between outer and cytoplasmic membranes

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Abstract

The TonB system of Escherichia coli (and most other Gram-negative bacteria) is distinguished by its importance to iron acquisition, its contribution to bacterial pathogenesis, and a unique and mysterious mechanism of action. This system somehow gathers the potential energy of the cytoplasmic membrane (CM) proton gradient and delivers it to active transporters in the outer membrane (OM). Our understanding of this system is confounded by the challenge of reconciling often contradictory in vivo and in vitro studies that are presented in this review.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for awards from the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences (to K. P.) and the National Science Foundation (to R. L.), and thank Dick van der Helm for very helpful discussions.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, 301 Althouse Laboratory, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Kathleen Postle

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 42402, USA

    Ray A. Larsen

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  1. Kathleen Postle
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Correspondence to Kathleen Postle.

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Postle, K., Larsen, R.A. TonB-dependent energy transduction between outer and cytoplasmic membranes. Biometals 20, 453–465 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-006-9071-6

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