Abstract
The transporter BetP in C. glutamicum is essential in maintaining bacterial cell viability during hyperosmotic stress and functions by co-transporting betaine and Na+ into bacterial cells. Hyperosmotic stress leads to increased intracellular K+ concentrations which in turn promotes betaine binding. While structural details of multiple end state conformations of BetP have provided high resolution ...
Abstract
The transporter BetP in C. glutamicum is essential in maintaining bacterial cell viability during hyperosmotic stress and functions by co-transporting betaine and Na+ into bacterial cells. Hyperosmotic stress leads to increased intracellular K+ concentrations which in turn promotes betaine binding. While structural details of multiple end state conformations of BetP have provided high resolution snapshots, how K+ sensing by the C-terminal domain is allosterically relayed to the betaine binding site is not well understood. In this study, we describe conformational dynamics in solution of BetP using amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry. These reveal how K+ alters conformation of the disordered C- and N-terminal domains to allosterically reconfigure transmembrane helices 3, 8, and 10 to enhance betaine interactions. A map of the betaine binding site, at near single amino acid resolution, reveals a critical extrahelical H-bond mediated by TM3 with betaine. (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.