9DVC | pdb_00009dvc

Thermus thermophilus MreC-MreD complex with a C-terminal MreD BRIL fusion and an anti-BRIL Fab

• PDB DOI: https://doi.org/10.2210/pdb9DVC/pdb
• EM Map EMD-47200: EMDB EMDataResource

• Classification: MEMBRANE PROTEIN
• Organism(s): Escherichia coli, Thermus thermophilus, synthetic construct
• Expression System: Escherichia coli, Homo sapiens
• Mutation(s): No 


• Deposited: 2024-10-07 Released: 2025-10-15 
• Deposition Author(s): Gilman, M.S.A., Kruse, A.C.
• Funding Organization(s): Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), National Institutes of Health/National Institute Of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH/NIAID), National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS), National Science Foundation (NSF, United States), Other private

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Experimental Data Snapshot

• Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
• Resolution: 7.40 Å
• Aggregation State: PARTICLE 
• Reconstruction Method: SINGLE PARTICLE 

Literature

Conformational regulation of two essential activators of bacterial cell elongation.

Gilman, M.S.A., Shlosman, I., Guerra, D.D.S., Domecillo, M., Fivenson, E.M., Bourett, C., Bernhardt, T.G., Polizzi, N.F., Loparo, J.J., Kruse, A.C.

(2025) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 122: e2514198122-e2514198122

• PubMed: 41183199 
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2514198122
• Primary Citation Related Structures: 
  9DVB, 9DVC


• PubMed Abstract: 
  

  The peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall is critical for bacterial growth and survival and is a primary antibiotic target. MreD is an essential accessory factor of the Rod complex, which carries out PG synthesis during elongation, yet little is known about how MreD facilitates this process. Here, we present the cryoelectron microscopy structure of Thermus thermophilus MreD in complex with another essential Rod complex component, MreC. The structure reveals that a periplasmic-facing pocket of MreD interacts with multiple membrane-proximal regions of MreC. We use single-molecule FRET to show that MreD controls the conformation of MreC through these contacts, inducing a state primed for Rod complex activation. Using Escherichia coli as a model, we demonstrate that disrupting these interactions abolishes Rod complex activity in vivo. Our findings reveal the role of MreD in bacterial cell shape determination and highlight its potential as an antibiotic target.

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Organizational Affiliation: 
• Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
Department of Microbiology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
HHMI, Boston, MA 02115.

Biological Assembly 1  

Global Symmetry: Asymmetric - C1 
Global Stoichiometry: Hetero 7-mer - A2B2C1D1E1 Pseudo Symmetry: Asymmetric - C1 
Pseudo Stoichiometry: Hetero 7-mer - A2B2C2D1 Local Symmetry: Cyclic - C2  (Explore in 3D)
Local Stoichiometry: Hetero 4-mer - A2B2 

Local Symmetry: Cyclic - C2  (Explore in 3D)
Local Stoichiometry: Hetero 4-mer - A2B2 

Biological assembly 1 assigned by authors.

Biological Assembly Evidence: electron microscopy

Macromolecule Content 

• Total Structure Weight: 149.52 kDa 
• Atom Count: 6,838 
• Modeled Residue Count: 889 
• Deposited Residue Count: 1,387 
• Unique protein chains: 5

Macromolecules

Entity ID: 1
Molecule	Chains	Sequence Length	Organism	Details	Image
Soluble cytochrome b562	A [auth B]	117	Escherichia coli	Mutation(s): 0  Gene Names: cybC
UniProt
Find proteins for P0ABE7 (Escherichia coli) Explore P0ABE7  Go to UniProtKB:  P0ABE7

Entity ID: 2
Molecule	Chains	Sequence Length	Organism	Details	Image
Cell shape-determining protein MreC	B [auth C], F [auth O]	262	Thermus thermophilus	Mutation(s): 0  Gene Names: TthHB5018_12720
UniProt
Find proteins for Q72JE6 (Thermus thermophilus (strain ATCC BAA-163 / DSM 7039 / HB27)) Explore Q72JE6  Go to UniProtKB:  Q72JE6

Entity ID: 3
Molecule	Chains	Sequence Length	Organism	Details	Image
Rod shape-determining protein MreD	C [auth D], G [auth P]	152	Thermus thermophilus	Mutation(s): 0  Gene Names: TTHA1190
UniProt
Find proteins for Q5SJ24 (Thermus thermophilus (strain ATCC 27634 / DSM 579 / HB8)) Explore Q5SJ24  Go to UniProtKB:  Q5SJ24

Entity ID: 4
Molecule	Chains	Sequence Length	Organism	Details	Image
BAG2 anti-BRIL Fab heavy chain	D [auth H]	227	synthetic construct	Mutation(s): 0

Entity ID: 5
Molecule	Chains	Sequence Length	Organism	Details	Image
BAG2 anti-BRIL Fab light chain	E [auth L]	215	synthetic construct	Mutation(s): 0

Experimental Data & Validation

Experimental Data

• Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
• Resolution: 7.40 Å
• Aggregation State: PARTICLE 
• Reconstruction Method: SINGLE PARTICLE 

Structure Validation

Entry History 

& Funding Information

Deposition Data

• Released Date: 2025-10-15 
Deposition Author(s): Gilman, M.S.A., Kruse, A.C.

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Funding Organization	Location	Grant Number
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)	United States	Investigator Funds
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)	United States	Hanna H. Gray Fellows program
National Institutes of Health/National Institute Of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH/NIAID)	United States	U19 AI158028
National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS)	United States	R01 GM114065
National Institutes of Health/National Institute Of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH/NIAID)	United States	R01 AI083365
National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS)	United States	R00 GM135519
National Science Foundation (NSF, United States)	United States	Graduate Research Fellowship Award
Other private	United States	Van Maanen Fellowship from the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School
Other private	United States	Innovation Research Fund of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Revision History  

• Version 1.0: 2025-10-15
  Type: Initial release
  
• Version 1.1: 2026-04-29
  Changes: Data collection, Database references