MucD regulates alginate biosynthesis through the proteolytic control of AlgX and AlgK in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Yujun Jiang, Xin-Fu Yan, Rya Ero, Chao Wang, Kanaga Sabapathy, Yong-Gui Gao, Ann M. Stock · 2026
Read MucD regulates alginate biosynthesis through the proteolytic control of AlgX and AlgK in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by Yujun Jiang, Xin-Fu Yan, Rya Ero, Chao Wang, Kanaga Sabapathy, Yong-Gui Gao, Ann M. Stock (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13608001.txt.
Description
Yujun Jiang leads a seven-author team solving how a bacterial protease keeps biofilm slime in check. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a hospital pathogen, persists in chronic infections by building biofilms rich in the sugar alginate. The protease MucD was known to influence alginate output, but its direct targets were a mystery. Mass spectrometry and sequence analysis caught MucD cutting two alginate-handling proteins, AlgX and AlgK.
A cryo-EM structure of MucD gripping an AlgK-derived peptide revealed how the enzyme assembles and chooses substrates. Guided mutations and biochemical tests showed activity flips with assembly state: MucD rests as a twelve-unit complex and works as a three-unit one. Cutting AlgX and AlgK means MucD restrains alginate production at the protein level too. This two-layer control and unusual activation switch, the authors say, sharpen understanding of the HtrA family and may suggest points of attack against biofilms.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Yujun Jiang, Xin-Fu Yan, Rya Ero, Chao Wang, Kanaga Sabapathy, Yong-Gui Gao, Ann M. Stock |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 55 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |