Premium
Parallel topology of genetically fused EmrE homodimers
Author(s) -
SteinerMordoch Sonia,
Soskine Misha,
Solomon Dalia,
Rotem Dvir,
Gold Ayala,
Yechieli Michal,
Adam Yoav,
Schuldiner Shimon
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1038/sj.emboj.7601951
Subject(s) - biology , computational biology , topology (electrical circuits) , genetics , combinatorics , mathematics
EmrE is a small H + ‐coupled multidrug transporter in Escherichia coli . Claims have been made for an antiparallel topology of this homodimeric protein. However, our own biochemical studies performed with detergent‐solubilized purified protein support a parallel topology of the protomers. We developed an alternative approach to constrain the relative topology of the protomers within the dimer so that their activity can be assayed also in vivo before biochemical handling. Tandem EmrE was built with two identical monomers genetically fused tail to head (C‐terminus of the first to N‐terminus of the second monomer) with hydrophilic linkers of varying length. All the constructs conferred resistance to ethidium by actively removing it from the cytoplasm. The purified proteins bound substrate and transported methyl viologen into proteoliposomes by a proton‐dependent mechanism. A tandem where one of the essential glutamates was replaced with glutamine transported only monovalent substrates and displayed a modified stoichiometry. The results support a parallel topology of the protomers in the functional dimer. The implications regarding insertion and evolution of membrane proteins are discussed.