Structural mechanism of signal transduction in a phytochrome histidine kinase
Year of publication
2022
Authors
Wahlgren, Weixiao Yuan; Claesson, Elin; Tuure, Iida; Trillo-Muyo, Sergio; Bódizs, Szabolcs; Ihalainen, Janne A.; Takala, Heikki; Westenhoff, Sebastian
Abstract
Phytochrome proteins detect red/far-red light to guide the growth, motion, development and reproduction in plants, fungi, and bacteria. Bacterial phytochromes commonly function as an entrance signal in two-component sensory systems. Despite the availability of three-dimensional structures of phytochromes and other two-component proteins, the conformational changes, which lead to activation of the protein, are not understood. We reveal cryo electron microscopy structures of the complete phytochrome from Deinoccocus radiodurans in its resting and photoactivated states at 3.6 Å and 3.5 Å resolution, respectively. Upon photoactivation, the photosensory core module hardly changes its tertiary domain arrangement, but the connector helices between the photosensory and the histidine kinase modules open up like a zipper, causing asymmetry and disorder in the effector domains. The structures provide a framework for atom-scale understanding of signaling in phytochromes, visualize allosteric communication over several nanometers, and suggest that disorder in the dimeric arrangement of the effector domains is important for phosphatase activity in a two-component system. The results have implications for the development of optogenetic applications.
Show moreOrganizations and authors
University of Helsinki
Takala Heikki
Publication type
Publication format
Article
Parent publication type
Journal
Article type
Original article
Audience
ScientificPeer-reviewed
Peer-ReviewedMINEDU's publication type classification code
A1 Journal article (refereed), original researchPublication channel information
Journal
Parent publication name
Publisher
Volume
13
Issue
1
Article number
7673
ISSN
Publication forum
Publication forum level
3
Open access
Open access in the publisher’s service
Yes
Open access of publication channel
Fully open publication channel
Self-archived
Yes
Other information
Fields of science
Plant biology, microbiology, virology; Biomedicine
Keywords
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Publication country
United Kingdom
Internationality of the publisher
International
Language
English
International co-publication
Yes
Co-publication with a company
No
DOI
10.1038/s41467-022-34893-3
The publication is included in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Publication data collection
Yes