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The Interactions of Spore‐Coat Morphogenetic Proteins Studied by Single‐Molecule Recognition Force Spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Qiao Haiyan,
Krajcikova Daniela,
Liu Caisheng,
Li Yongjun,
Wang Hongda,
Barak Imrich,
Tang Jilin
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
chemistry – an asian journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.18
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1861-471X
pISSN - 1861-4728
DOI - 10.1002/asia.201100795
Subject(s) - spore , biology , force spectroscopy , bacillus subtilis , morphogenesis , microbiology and biotechnology , biophysics , biochemistry , chemistry , molecule , bacteria , genetics , organic chemistry , gene
Bacillus subtilis can form a spore, which is a dormant type of cell, when its external environment becomes unsuitable for vegetative growth. The spore is surrounded by a multilayered proteinaceous shell called a spore coat, which plays a crucial role in dormancy and germination. Of the over 70 proteins that form the spore coat, only a small subset of them affect its morphogenesis; they are referred to as morphogenetic proteins. How these morphogenetic proteins interact, and furthermore, how they build the ordered, functional coat layers is not well understood. Elucidating the self‐assembly mechanism of individual proteins into such a complex structure may contribute to its potential use in nano‐biotechnology applications for preparing highly organized, robust, and resistant proteinaceous layers. Herein, direct, noncovalent, low‐affinity interactions between the spore‐coat morphogenetic proteins SpoIVA, SpoVID, and SafA were studied by using single‐molecule recognition force spectroscopy in vitro for the first time. Based on the real‐time examination of interactions between these three proteins, a series of dynamic kinetic data were obtained. It was also observed that the SafA–SpoVID interaction was stronger than that of SafA–SpoIVA.