Proteins in the outer membrane efflux

protein family A protein family is a group of evolutionarily related proteins. In many cases, a protein family has a corresponding gene family, in which each gene encodes a corresponding protein with a 1:1 relationship. The term "protein family" should not be c ...

form trimeric (three-piece) channels that allow export of a variety of substrates in

gram-negative bacteria Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall ...

. Each member of this family is composed of two repeats. The trimeric channel is composed of a 12-stranded

beta-barrel In protein structures, a beta barrel is a beta sheet composed of tandem repeats that twists and coils to form a closed toroidal structure in which the first strand is bonded to the last strand (hydrogen bond). Beta-strands in many beta-barrels are ...

that spans the outer membrane, and a long all helical barrel that spans the

periplasm The periplasm is a concentrated gel-like matrix in the space between the inner cytoplasmic membrane and the bacterial outer membrane called the ''periplasmic space'' in gram-negative bacteria. Using cryo-electron microscopy it has been found that ...

. Examples include the ''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

'' TolC outer membrane protein, which is required for proper expression of outer membrane protein genes; the Rhizobium nodulation protein; and the Pseudomonas FusA protein, which is involved in resistance to fusaric acid.

References

* Protein domains Protein families Outer membrane proteins {{membrane-protein-stub