In molecular biology, aerolysin is a cytolytic

pore-forming toxin Pore-forming proteins (PFTs, also known as pore-forming toxins) are usually produced by bacteria, and include a number of protein exotoxins but may also be produced by other organisms such as apple snails that produce perivitellin-2 or earthw ...

exported by ''

Aeromonas hydrophila ''Aeromonas hydrophila'' is a heterotrophic, Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium mainly found in areas with a warm climate. This bacterium can be found in fresh or brackish water. It can survive in aerobic and anaerobic environments, and can ...

'', a

Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that, unlike gram-positive bacteria, do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. Their defining characteristic is that their cell envelope consists ...

bacterium Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the ...

associated with diarrhoeal

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...

s and deep

wound A wound is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs. Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying diseas ...

infections An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

. It is also produced by the caterpillar of the moth Megalopyge opercularis, sometimes called the Tree Asp. The mature toxin

bind BIND () is a suite of software for interacting with the Domain Name System (DNS). Its most prominent component, named (pronounced ''name-dee'': , short for ''name Daemon (computing), daemon''), performs both of the main DNS server roles, acting ...

s to

eukaryotic The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...

cells and aggregates to form holes (approximately 3 nm in diameter) leading to the destruction of the

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Bi ...

permeability barrier and osmotic

lysis Lysis ( ; from Greek 'loosening') is the breaking down of the membrane of a cell, often by viral, enzymic, or osmotic (that is, "lytic" ) mechanisms that compromise its integrity. A fluid containing the contents of lysed cells is called a ...

. The

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

of proaerolysin has been determined to 2.8A resolution and shows the protoxin to adopt a novel fold. High-resolution cryo-EM atomic models of aerolysin in membrane-like environment (lipid copolymer Nanodiscs) as well as some prepore-like mutant have been elucidated, permitting the identification of important interactions required for pore formation and revealing four constriction rings in the pore lumen.

References

{{InterPro content, IPR005830 Protein domains