Complete structure of the core signalling unit of the E. coli chemosensory array in an optimised minicell strain

Motile bacteria sense chemical gradients with transmembrane receptors organised in supramolecular signalling arrays. Understanding stimulus detection and transmission at the molecular level requires precise structural characterisation of the array building block known as a core signalling unit (CSU). Here we introduce a novel E. coli strain that forms small minicells possessing extended and highly ordered chemosensory arrays. We provide a three-dimensional (3D) map of a complete CSU at ~16 Angstrom resolution by cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and subtomogram averaging. This map, combined with previously determined high resolution structures and molecular dynamics simulations, yields an atomistic model of the membrane-bound CSU and enables spatial localisation of its signalling domains. Our work thus offers a solid structural basis for interpretation of existing data and design of new experiments to elucidate signalling mechanisms within the CSU and larger array.