A structural model for (GlcNAc)2 translocation via a periplasmic chitooligosaccharide-binding protein from marine Vibrio bacteria

How marine bacteria feed on chitin

31 January 2022

How the microbes feed on chitin, one of the most abundant natural polymers on Earth, has been revealed by a structural analysis of a nutrient-uptake protein found in marine bacteria.

The findings could lead to improved management of chitin waste from the environment or be put to use in biotechnology and biomedical applications.

Six researchers from the Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology characterized a transport protein from a close relative of the bacterial pathogen that causes cholera. This protein, called chitooligosaccharide-binding protein (CBP), grabs onto products of chitin metabolism and shuttles the molecules across the inner membrane that envelops the marine microbes.

The team detailed the protein’s conformation at each step along the transport process, revealing its open and closed shapes at different stages.

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References

1. Journal of Biological Chemistry 297, 101071 (2021). doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101071