Abstract
The evolutionarily conserved Sec machinery is responsible for transporting proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane. Protein substrates of the Sec machinery must be in an unfolded conformation in order to be translocated across (or inserted into) the cytoplasmic membrane. In bacteria, the requirement for unfolded proteins is strict: substrate proteins that fold (or misfold) prematurely in the cytoplasm prior to translocation become irreversibly trapped in the cytoplasm. Partially folded Sec substrate proteins and stalled ribosomes containing nascent Sec substrates can also inhibit translocation by blocking (i.e., “jamming”) the membrane-embedded Sec machinery. To avoid these issues, bacteria have evolved a complex network of quality control systems to ensure that Sec substrate proteins do not fold in the cytoplasm. This quality control network can be broken into three branches, for which we have defined the acronym “AID”: (i) avoidance of cytoplasmic intermediates through cotranslationally channeling newly synthesized Sec substrates to the Sec machinery; (ii) inhibition of folding Sec substrate proteins that transiently reside in the cytoplasm by molecular chaperones and the requirement for posttranslational modifications; (iii) destruction of products that could potentially inhibit translocation. In addition, several stress response pathways help to restore protein-folding homeostasis when environmental conditions that inhibit translocation overcome the AID quality control systems.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 669376 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Frontiers in Molecular Bioscience |
Volume | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 13 Apr 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank G. Williams and the members of the Huber lab for thoughtful discussions and feedback. Funding. MW was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-funded Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Jiang, Wynne and Huber.
Keywords
- Sec
- molecular chaperones
- proteases
- protein targeting
- protein translocation
- quality control
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous)
- Molecular Biology