PMID: 9886293 , Related PDB id: 1FEP

Authors:

Buchanan SK, Smith BS, Venkatramani L, Xia D, Esser L, Palnitkar M, Chakraborty R, van der Helm D, Deisenhofer J

Title:

Crystal structure of the outer membrane active transporter FepA from Escherichia coli.

Journal:

Nat Struct Biol. 1999 Jan;6(1):56-63.

Abstract:

Integral outer membrane receptors for iron chelates and vitamin B12 carry out specific ligand transport against a concentration gradient. Energy for active transport is obtained from the proton-motive force of the inner membrane through physical interaction with TonB-ExbB-ExbD, an inner membrane complex. Here we report the crystal structure of an active transport, outer membrane receptor at 2.4 A resolution. Two distinct functional domains are revealed: (i) a 22-stranded beta-barrel that spans the outer membrane and contains large extracellular loops which appear to function in ligand binding; and (ii) a globular N-terminal domain that folds into the barrel pore, inhibiting access to the periplasm and contributing two additional loops for potential ligand binding. These loops could provide a signaling pathway between the processes of ligand recognition and TonB-mediated transport. The blockage of the pore suggests that the N-terminal domain must undergo a conformational rearrangement to allow ligand transport into the periplasm.