Outer membrane receptors, also known as TonB-dependent receptors, are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

s named for their localization in the outer membrane of

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 ...

. TonB complexes sense signals from the outside of bacterial cells and transmit them into the

cytoplasm In cell biology, the cytoplasm is all of the material within a eukaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, except for the cell nucleus. The material inside the nucleus and contained within the nuclear membrane is termed the nucleoplasm. The ...

, leading to transcriptional activation of target

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

s. TonB-dependent receptors in gram-negative bacteria are associated with the uptake and transport of large substrates such as iron

siderophore Siderophores (Greek: "iron carrier") are small, high-affinity iron-chelating compounds that are secreted by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. They help the organism accumulate iron. Although a widening range of siderophore functions is no ...

complexes and

vitamin B12 Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. It ...

TonB interactions with other proteins

In ''

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 ...

'', the TonB protein interacts with outer membrane receptor proteins that carry out high-affinity binding and energy-dependent uptake of specific substrates into the periplasmic space. These substrates are either poorly transported through non-specific porin channels or are encountered at very low concentrations. In the absence of TonB, these receptors bind their substrates but do not carry out active transport. TonB-dependent regulatory systems consist of six protein protein components. The proteins that are currently known or presumed to interact with TonB include BtuB, CirA, FatA, FcuT, FecA, FhuA, FhuE,

FepA Many bacteria secrete small iron-binding molecules called siderophores, which bind strongly to ferric ions. FepA is an integral bacterial outer membrane porin protein that belongs to outer membrane receptor family and provides the active transpo ...

, FptA, HemR, IrgA, IutA, PfeA, PupA, LbpA and TbpA. The TonB protein also interacts with some colicins. Most of these proteins contain a short conserved region at their N-terminus.

TonB-dependent receptor plug domain

TonB-dependent receptors include a ''plug domain'', an independently folding subunit that acts as the channel gate, blocking the pore until the channel is bound by ligand. At this point it undergoes conformational changes, opening the channel.

TonB as phage receptor

TonB also acts as a receptor for

Salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...

bacteriophage A bacteriophage (), also known informally as a ''phage'' (), is a duplodnaviria virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea. The term was derived from "bacteria" and the Greek φαγεῖν ('), meaning "to devour". Bacteri ...

H8. In fact, H8 infection is TonB dependent.

References

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