Properties Of Transmembrane Helix Tm1 Of The Dcus Sensor Kinase Of Escherichia Coli, The Stator For Tm2 Piston Signaling

The sensor kinase DcuS of Escherichia coli perceives extracellular fumarate by a periplasmic PASP sensor domain. Transmembrane (TM) helix TM2, present as TM2-TM2' homo-dimer, transmits fumarate activation in a piston-slide across the membrane. The second TM helix of DcuS, TM1, is known to lack piston movement. Structural and functional properties of TM1 were analyzed. Oxidative Cys-crosslinking (CL) revealed homo-dimerization of TM1 over the complete membrane, but only the central part showed a-helical +3/+4 spacing of the CL maxima. The GALLEX bacterial two-hybrid system indicates TM1/TM1' interaction, and the presence of a TM1-TM1' homo-dimer is suggested. The peripheral TM1 regions presented CL in a spacing atypical for a-helical arrangement. On the periplasmic side the deviation extended over 11 AA residues (V32-S42) between the a-helical part of TM1 and the onset of PASP. In the V32-S42 region, CL efficiency decreased in the presence of fumarate. Therefore, TM1 exists as a homo-dimer with a-helical arrangement in the central membrane region, and non-a-helical arrangement in the connector to PASP. The fumarate induced structural response in the V32-S42 region is suggested to represent a structural adaptation to the shift of TM2 in the TM1-TM1'/TM2-TM2' four-helical bundle.