10MZ | pdb_000010mz

Single particle reconstruction of PilU from Vibrio cholerae El Tor E7946, form 2

• PDB DOI: https://doi.org/10.2210/pdb10MZ/pdb
• EM Map EMD-75297: EMDB EMDataResource

• Classification: MOTOR PROTEIN
• Organism(s): Vibrio cholerae
• Expression System: Escherichia coli
• Mutation(s): No 


• Deposited: 2026-01-28 Released: 2026-05-20 
• Deposition Author(s): Guo, Y., Shukla, S., Klose, T., Tokars, V., Mondragon, A., Borek, D., Satchell, K., Center for Structural Biology of Infectious Diseases (CSBID)
• Funding Organization(s): National Institutes of Health/National Institute Of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH/NIAID)

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Experimental Data Snapshot

• Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
• Resolution: 3.68 Å
• Aggregation State: PARTICLE 
• Reconstruction Method: SINGLE PARTICLE 

Literature

Analysis of the heterogenous structural states of the hexameric ATPase PilU of the type IV pili from Vibrio cholerae.

Guo, Y., Shukla, S., Minasov, G., Inniss, N.L., Klose, T., Tokars, V.L., Mondragon, A., Otwinowski, Z., Borek, D., Satchell, K.J.F.

(2026) Protein Sci 35: e70609-e70609

• PubMed: 42084485 
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.70609
• Primary Citation Related Structures: 
  10MY, 10MZ, 10NA, 10NB


• PubMed Abstract: 
  

  Type IV pili (T4P) mediate surface motility, host interactions, and DNA uptake through cycles of extension and retraction. While the primary retraction ATPase PilT has been extensively characterized, its homolog PilU remains less well understood despite being demonstrated as a PilT-dependent retraction ATPase. Here, we determined six PilU structures by cryo-electron microscopy and x-ray crystallography. The structures reveal a homohexameric assembly stabilized by interactions between the C-terminal catalytic domain of one subunit and the N-terminal PAS-like domain of a neighboring subunit. PilU adopts multiple conformational states, exhibiting different combinations of open and closed interfaces even in the absence of nucleotide. Comparison with PilT highlights structural features that likely underlie PilU's weak ATPase activity and its dependence on PilT for function. Together, these findings provide a structural framework for understanding PilU's role within the T4P retraction machinery.

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Organizational Affiliation: 
• Department of Biophysics, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Ligo Analytics, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Department of Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Center for Structural Biology of Infectious Diseases, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.
Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.
Department of Biochemistry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.

Biological Assembly 1  

Global Symmetry: Cyclic - C2  (Explore in 3D)
Global Stoichiometry: Homo 6-mer - A6 

Biological assembly 1 assigned by authors and generated by (software)

Biological Assembly Evidence: electron microscopy

Macromolecule Content 

• Total Structure Weight: 257.7 kDa 
• Atom Count: 16,532 
• Modeled Residue Count: 2,102 
• Deposited Residue Count: 2,316 
• Unique protein chains: 1

Macromolecules

Entity ID: 1
Molecule	Chains	Sequence Length	Organism	Details	Image
PilT/PilU family type 4a pilus ATPase	A, B, C, D, E, F	386	Vibrio cholerae	Mutation(s): 0  Gene Names: BC353_02195, D6U24_12630, FLM02_06300, KIN13_15985
UniProt
Find proteins for A0A085SZ25 (Vibrio cholerae) Explore A0A085SZ25  Go to UniProtKB:  A0A085SZ25

Experimental Data & Validation

Experimental Data

• Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
• Resolution: 3.68 Å
• Aggregation State: PARTICLE 
• Reconstruction Method: SINGLE PARTICLE 

EM Software:

Task	Software Package	Version
RECONSTRUCTION	cryoSPARC

Structure Validation

Entry History 

& Funding Information

Deposition Data

• Released Date: 2026-05-20 
Deposition Author(s): Guo, Y., Shukla, S., Klose, T., Tokars, V., Mondragon, A., Borek, D., Satchell, K., Center for Structural Biology of Infectious Diseases (CSBID)

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Funding Organization	Location	Grant Number
National Institutes of Health/National Institute Of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH/NIAID)	United States	--

Revision History  

• Version 1.0: 2026-05-20
  Type: Initial release