Crystalline S-Layer Protein Monolayers Induce Water Turbulences on the Nanometer Scale
Bacterial surface layers (S-layers) have been observed as the outermost cell envelope component in a wide range of bacteria and most archaea. They are one of the most common prokaryotic cell surface structures and cover the cells completely. It is assumed that S-layers provide selection advantages t...
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doaj-8582b7c71a1e4f959c138bdbc6e260762021-09-25T23:58:01ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522021-09-01111147114710.3390/cryst11091147Crystalline S-Layer Protein Monolayers Induce Water Turbulences on the Nanometer ScaleRupert Tscheliessnig0Andreas Breitwieser1Uwe B. Sleytr2Dietmar Pum3Department for Biotechnology, Institute of Bioprocess Science and Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, AustriaDepartment for Nanobiotechnology, Institute for Biophysics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Nanobiotechnology, Institute of Synthetic Bioarchitectures, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, AustriaDepartment for Nanobiotechnology, Institute for Biophysics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, AustriaBacterial surface layers (S-layers) have been observed as the outermost cell envelope component in a wide range of bacteria and most archaea. They are one of the most common prokaryotic cell surface structures and cover the cells completely. It is assumed that S-layers provide selection advantages to prokaryotic cells in their natural habitats since they act as protective envelopes, as structures involved in cell adhesion and surface recognition, as molecular or ion traps, and as molecular sieves in the ultrafiltration range. In order to contribute to the question of the function of S-layers for the cell, we merged high-resolution cryo-EM and small-angle X-ray scattering datasets to build a coarse-grained functional model of the S-layer protein SbpA from <i>Lysinibacillus sphaericus</i> ATCC 4525. We applied the Navier–Stokes and the Poisson equations for a 2D section through the pore region in the self-assembled SbpA lattice. We calculated the flow field of water, the vorticity, the electrostatic potential, and the electric field of the coarse-grained model. From calculated local changes in the flow profile, evidence is provided that both the characteristic rigidity of the S-layer and the charge distribution determine its rheological properties. The strength of turbulence and pressure near the S-layer surface in the range of 10 to 50 nm thus support our hypothesis that the S-layer, due to its highly ordered repetitive crystalline structure, not only increases the exchange rate of metabolites but is also responsible for the remarkable antifouling properties of the cell surface. In this context, studies on the structure, assembly and function of S-layer proteins are promising for various applications in nanobiotechnology, biomimetics, biomedicine, and molecular nanotechnology.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/11/9/1147S-layerssmall angle X-ray scatteringcryo-EMNavier–Stokes equationPoisson equationanti-fouling |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Rupert Tscheliessnig Andreas Breitwieser Uwe B. Sleytr Dietmar Pum |
spellingShingle |
Rupert Tscheliessnig Andreas Breitwieser Uwe B. Sleytr Dietmar Pum Crystalline S-Layer Protein Monolayers Induce Water Turbulences on the Nanometer Scale Crystals S-layers small angle X-ray scattering cryo-EM Navier–Stokes equation Poisson equation anti-fouling |
author_facet |
Rupert Tscheliessnig Andreas Breitwieser Uwe B. Sleytr Dietmar Pum |
author_sort |
Rupert Tscheliessnig |
title |
Crystalline S-Layer Protein Monolayers Induce Water Turbulences on the Nanometer Scale |
title_short |
Crystalline S-Layer Protein Monolayers Induce Water Turbulences on the Nanometer Scale |
title_full |
Crystalline S-Layer Protein Monolayers Induce Water Turbulences on the Nanometer Scale |
title_fullStr |
Crystalline S-Layer Protein Monolayers Induce Water Turbulences on the Nanometer Scale |
title_full_unstemmed |
Crystalline S-Layer Protein Monolayers Induce Water Turbulences on the Nanometer Scale |
title_sort |
crystalline s-layer protein monolayers induce water turbulences on the nanometer scale |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Crystals |
issn |
2073-4352 |
publishDate |
2021-09-01 |
description |
Bacterial surface layers (S-layers) have been observed as the outermost cell envelope component in a wide range of bacteria and most archaea. They are one of the most common prokaryotic cell surface structures and cover the cells completely. It is assumed that S-layers provide selection advantages to prokaryotic cells in their natural habitats since they act as protective envelopes, as structures involved in cell adhesion and surface recognition, as molecular or ion traps, and as molecular sieves in the ultrafiltration range. In order to contribute to the question of the function of S-layers for the cell, we merged high-resolution cryo-EM and small-angle X-ray scattering datasets to build a coarse-grained functional model of the S-layer protein SbpA from <i>Lysinibacillus sphaericus</i> ATCC 4525. We applied the Navier–Stokes and the Poisson equations for a 2D section through the pore region in the self-assembled SbpA lattice. We calculated the flow field of water, the vorticity, the electrostatic potential, and the electric field of the coarse-grained model. From calculated local changes in the flow profile, evidence is provided that both the characteristic rigidity of the S-layer and the charge distribution determine its rheological properties. The strength of turbulence and pressure near the S-layer surface in the range of 10 to 50 nm thus support our hypothesis that the S-layer, due to its highly ordered repetitive crystalline structure, not only increases the exchange rate of metabolites but is also responsible for the remarkable antifouling properties of the cell surface. In this context, studies on the structure, assembly and function of S-layer proteins are promising for various applications in nanobiotechnology, biomimetics, biomedicine, and molecular nanotechnology. |
topic |
S-layers small angle X-ray scattering cryo-EM Navier–Stokes equation Poisson equation anti-fouling |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/11/9/1147 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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