Bacterial spore germination receptors are nutrient-gated ion channels

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gao, Yongqiang; Amon, Jeremy D.; Artzi, Lior; Ramirez-Guadiana, Fernando H.; Brock, Kelly P.; Cofsky, Joshua C.; Marks, Deborah S.; Kruse, Andrew C.; Rudner, David Z.
• 署名单位: Harvard University; Harvard Medical School; Harvard University; Harvard Medical School; Harvard University; Harvard Medical School
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-9281
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adg9829
• 发表日期: 2023-04-28
• 页码: 387-391
• 关键词: crystal-structure; escherichia-coli; dormant spores; l-alanine; membrane; homologs; proteins; roles; gern

摘要

Bacterial spores resist antibiotics and sterilization and can remain metabolically inactive for decades, but they can rapidly germinate and resume growth in response to nutrients. Broadly conserved receptors embedded in the spore membrane detect nutrients, but how spores transduce these signals remains unclear. Here, we found that these receptors form oligomeric membrane channels. Mutations predicted to widen the channel initiated germination in the absence of nutrients, whereas those that narrow it prevented ion release and germination in response to nutrients. Expressing receptors with widened channels during vegetative growth caused loss of membrane potential and cell death, whereas the addition of germinants to cells expressing wild-type receptors triggered membrane depolarization. Therefore, germinant receptors act as nutrient-gated ion channels such that ion release initiates exit from dormancy.