About
The active site of type II secretion nanomachine: architecture, mechanism and specificity
Objectives
The goal of the project is to determine the structure of the central subcomplex of the Type II secretion system called the assembly platform, localised in the bacterial inner membrane. Structural data on this complex and in particular its organisation in the membrane are scarce, despite its essential function. The contacts between assembly platform and the ATPase are dynamic and play the key role in assembly of the endopilus, filament essential for protein secretion via this system. Importantly, the closely related type IV pili, important virulence factors in many bacteria, use a highly similar complex for assembly and function. How the endopilus dynamics is regulated by this complex and what are its functional determinants? To address these questions, we will use advanced biochemical approaches for its purification, coupled with cryo-electron microscopy, NMR and molecular modelling.
