Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Javier Abellon-RuizORCiD, Dr Augustinas SilaleORCiD, Dr Andrew FreyORCiD, Dr Arnaud Basle, Professor Matthias TrostORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2023, Springer Nature Limited.Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is required for most human gut microbes, many of which are dependent on scavenging to obtain this vitamin. Since bacterial densities in the gut are extremely high, competition for this keystone micronutrient is severe. Contrasting with Enterobacteria, members of the dominant genus Bacteroides often encode several BtuB vitamin B12 outer membrane transporters together with a conserved array of surface-exposed B12-binding lipoproteins. Here we show that the BtuB transporters from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron form stable, pedal bin-like complexes with surface-exposed BtuG lipoprotein lids, which bind B12 with high affinities. Closing of the BtuG lid following B12 capture causes destabilisation of the bound B12 by a conserved BtuB extracellular loop, causing translocation of the vitamin to BtuB and subsequent transport. We propose that TonB-dependent, lipoprotein-assisted small molecule uptake is a general feature of Bacteroides spp. that is important for the success of this genus in colonising the human gut.
Author(s): Abellon-Ruiz J, Jana K, Silale A, Frey AM, Baslé A, Trost M, Kleinekathöfer U, van den Berg B
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Nature Communications
Year: 2023
Volume: 14
Online publication date: 05/08/2023
Acceptance date: 27/07/2023
Date deposited: 01/09/2023
ISSN (electronic): 2041-1723
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40427-2
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40427-2
PubMed id: 37543597
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
