Suchergebnisse

Medium-resolution cryo-electron microscopy maps, in particular when they include a significant number of α-helices, may allow the building of partial models that are useful for molecular-replacement searches in large crystallo­graphic structures when the structures of homologs are not available and experimental phasing has failed. Here, as an example, the solution of the structure of a bacteriophage portal using a partial 30% model built into a 7.8 Å resolution cryo-EM map is shown. Inspection of the self-rotation function allowed the correct oligomerization state to be determined, and density-modification procedures using rotation matrices and a mask based on the cryo-EM structure were critical for solving the structure. A workflow is described that may be applicable to similar cases and this strategy is compared with direct use of the cryo-EM map for molecular replacement. ; The following funding is acknowledged: Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain (grant Nos. BFU2014-53550-P and BFU2017-83720-P to Miquel Coll; grant No. BFU2014-54181 to Jose´ L. Carrascosa; contract No. SEV2013-0347 to Ana Cuervo; contract No. RYC-2011-09071 to Cristina Machon; award No. SEV-2015-0500 to IRB Barcelona; award No. MDM-2014-0435 to IBMB Structural Biology Unit); Catalan Government CERCA Programme (grant to IRB Barcelona).

Abstract
Podophages that infect gram-negative bacteria, such as Pectobacterium pathogen ΦM1, encode tail assemblies too short to extend across the complex gram-negative cell wall. To overcome this, podophages encode a large protein complex (ejectosome) packaged inside the viral capsid and correspondingly ejected during infection to form a transient channel that spans the periplasmic space. Here, we describe the ejectosome of bacteriophage ΦM1 to a resolution of 3.32 Å by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The core consists of tetrameric and octameric ejection proteins which form a ∼1.5-MDa ejectosome that must transition through the ∼30 Å aperture created by the short tail nozzle assembly that acts as the conduit for the passage of DNA during infection. The ejectosome forms several grooves into which coils of genomic DNA are fit before the DNA sharply turns and goes down the tunnel and into the portal. In addition, we reconstructed the icosahedral capsid and hybrid tail apparatus to resolutions between 3.04 and 3.23 Å, and note an uncommon fold adopted by the dimerized decoration proteins which further emphasize the structural diversity of podophages. These reconstructions have allowed the generation of a complete atomic model of the ΦM1, uncovering two distinct decoration proteins and highlighting the exquisite structural diversity of tailed bacteriophages.