Crystal structure of the outer membrane protein ZnuD

Crystal structure of the outer membrane protein ZnuD

The conserved outer-membrane zinc transporter ZnuD is utilized by bacteria to overcome nutritional restriction imposed by the host organism during infection.  In this Nature Communications paper (Calmettes et al.), Post doctoral fellow Dr. Charles Calmettes and other members of the Moraes Lab, Pomès Lab and Gray-Owen lab demonstrate that ZnuD is required for efficient systemic infections by the causative agent of bacterial meningitis, Neisseria meningitidis.  They combined X-ray crystallography and molecular dynamics simulations to gain insight into the mechanism of zinc recognition and transport across the bacterial outer-membrane.

The article was also highlighted on the UofT news  and Faculty of Medicine websites.