Chemotaxis cluster 1 proteins form cytoplasmic arrays in Vibrio cholerae and are stabilized by a double signaling domain receptor DosM.

Abstract

Nearly all motile bacterial cells use a highly sensitive and adaptable sensory system to detect changes in nutrient concentrations in the environment and guide their movements toward attractants and away from repellents. The best-studied bacterial chemoreceptor arrays are membrane-bound. Many motile bacteria contain one or more additional, sometimes purely cytoplasmic, chemoreceptor systems. Vibrio cholerae contains three chemotaxis clusters (I, II, and III). Here, using electron cryotomography, we explore V. cholerae's cytoplasmic chemoreceptor array and establish that it is formed by proteins from cluster I. We further identify a chemoreceptor with an unusual domain architecture, DosM, which is essential for formation of the cytoplasmic arrays. DosM contains two signaling domains and spans the two-layered cytoplasmic arrays. Finally, we present evidence suggesting that this type of receptor is important for the structural stability of the cytoplasmic array.