Component and functions of lipopolysaccharide transport system in Gram-negative bacteria

Abstract:

Gram negative bacteria contain two layers of membranes:Inner membrane and Outer membrane. Lipopolysaccharides of most Gram-negative bacteria are the most important component of membrane lipid and anchored in the outer leaflet of the outer membrane, which play a role in inherent immune of Gram-negative bacteria. Lipopolysaccharide transport system assembles lipopolysaccharides into the outer membrane to achieve a variety of functions, including lipopolysaccharide associated barrier, organic solvent tolerance, hydrophobic antibiotic resistance, membrane permeability and other functions. The transport system mainly depends on 7 different lipopolysaccharides transport proteins (LptABCDEFG), which are composed of the ATP-binding cassette transporter complex LptB2FG, periplasm protein LptA/C, and "vital gate" outer membrane protein complex LptDE together. This paper describes the structure and functions of lipopolysaccharide transport system in Gram-negative bacteria, to provide information to further study the function of each protein in this system.