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  • Title: The molecular chaperone SecB is released from the carboxy-terminus of SecA during initiation of precursor protein translocation.
    Author: Fekkes P, van der Does C, Driessen AJ.
    Journal: EMBO J; 1997 Oct 15; 16(20):6105-13. PubMed ID: 9321390.
    Abstract:
    The chaperone SecB keeps precursor proteins in a translocation-competent state and targets them to SecA at the translocation sites in the cytoplasmic membrane of Escherichia coli. SecA is thought to recognize SecB via its carboxy-terminus. To determine the minimal requirement for a SecB-binding site, fusion proteins were created between glutathione-S-transferase and different parts of the carboxy-terminus of SecA and analysed for SecB binding. A strikingly short amino acid sequence corresponding to only the most distal 22 aminoacyl residues of SecA suffices for the authentic binding of SecB or the SecB-precursor protein complex. SecAN880, a deletion mutant that lacks this highly conserved domain, still supports precursor protein translocation but is unable to bind SecB. Heterodimers of wild-type SecA and SecAN880 are defective in SecB binding, demonstrating that both carboxy-termini of the SecA dimer are needed to form a genuine SecB-binding site. SecB is released from the translocase at a very early stage in protein translocation when the membrane-bound SecA binds ATP to initiate translocation. It is concluded that the SecB-binding site on SecA is confined to the extreme carboxy-terminus of the SecA dimer, and that SecB is released from this site at the onset of translocation.
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