The maltose transporter MalFGK(2), together with the substrate-binding protein MalE, is one of the best-characterized ABC transporters. In the conventional model, MalE captures maltose in the periplasm and delivers the sugar to the transporter. Here, using nanodiscs and proteoliposomes, we instead find that MalE is bound with high-affinity to MalFGK2 to facilitate the acquisition of the sugar. ...

The polyspecific ligand recognition pattern of ATB-binding cassette (ABC)-transporters, combined with the limited knowledge on the molecular basis of their multispecificity, makes it difficult to apply traditional molecular modelling and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) methods for identification of new ligands. Recent advances relied mainly on pharmacophore modelling and ma...

A mutation in the Arabidopsis gene STARIK leads to dwarfism and chlorosis of plants with an altered morphology of leaf and cell nuclei. We show that the STARIK gene encodes the mitochondrial ABC transporter Sta1 that belongs to a subfamily of Arabidopsis half-ABC transporters. The severity of the starik phenotype is suppressed by the ectopic expression of the STA2 homolog; thus, Sta1 function i...

On the Bacillus subtilis chromosome there are five examples of genes encoding two-component systems with response regulators of the OmpR family adjacent to genes encoding sub-family 9 ABC transport systems. Three of these (yts, yvc, yxd) are very similar in gene organization and in sequence. We demonstrate that the TCS and ABC transporter genes do not belong to the same transcriptional unit. Th...

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters comprise a large paralogous protein family and several confer drug resistance. Ivermectin (IVM) is the only drug approved for treatment of onchocerciasis and is a substrate for some ABC transporters. Furthermore, there is accumulating evidence that IVM selects on some ABC transporter genes in Onchocerca volvulus and other parasitic nematodes. The onchocer...

Fungi tolerate exposure to various abiotic stresses, including cytotoxic compounds and fungicides, via their ATP-driven efflux pumps belonging to ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. To clarify the molecular basis of interaction between the fungus and various abiotic stresses including fungicides, we constructed a cDNA library from germinated conidia of Colletotrichum acutatum, a major anth...

Different mechanisms of drug resistance, including ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, are responsible for treatment failure of tumors. We developed a low-density DNA microarray which contains 38 genes of the ABC transporter gene family. This tool has been validated with three different multidrug-resistant sublines (CEM/ADR5000, HL60/AR, and MCF7/CH1000) known to overexpress either the ABC...

The genomes of Helicobacter species colonizing the mammalian gastric mucosa (like Helicobacter pylori) contain a large number of genes annotated as iron acquisition genes but only few nickel acquisition genes, which contrasts with the central position of nickel in the urease-mediated acid resistance of these gastric pathogens. In this study we have investigated the predicted iron and nickel acq...