Assembly and Mechanical Properties of the Cargo-Free and Cargo-Loaded Bacterial Nanocompartment Encapsulin

Joost Snijder, Olga Kononova, Ioana M Barbu, Charlotte Uetrecht, W Frederik Rurup, Melissa S T Koay, Rebecca J Burnley, Jeroen J L M Cornelissen, Wouter H Roos, Valeri Barsegov, Gijs J L Wuite, Albert J R Heck*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Prokaryotes mostly lack membranous compartments that are typical of eukaryotic cells, but instead, they have various protein-based organelles. These include bacterial microcompartments like the carboxysome and the virus-like nanocompartment encapsulin. Encapsulins have an adaptable mechanism for enzyme packaging, which makes it an attractive platform to carry a foreign protein cargo. Here we investigate the assembly pathways and mechanical properties of the cargo-free and cargo-loaded nanocompartments, using a combination of native mass spectrometry, atomic force microscopy and multiscale computational molecular modeling. We show that encapsulin dimers assemble into rigid single-enzyme bacterial containers. Moreover, we demonstrate that cargo encapsulation has a mechanical impact on the shell. The structural similarity of encapsulins to virus capsids is reflected in their mechanical properties. With these robust mechanical properties encapsulins provide a suitable platform for the development of nanotechnological applications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2522–2529
JournalBiomacromolecules
Volume17
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Jul 2016

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Assembly and Mechanical Properties of the Cargo-Free and Cargo-Loaded Bacterial Nanocompartment Encapsulin'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this