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Critical assessment of structure prediction (CASP) conducts community experiments to determine the state of the art in computing protein structure from amino acid sequence. The process relies on the experimental community providing information about not yet public or about to be solved structures, for use as targets. For some targets, the experimental structure is not solved in time for use in CASP. Calculated structure accuracy improved dramatically in this round, implying that models should now be much more useful for resolving many sorts of experimental difficulties. To test this, selected models for seven unsolved targets were provided to the experimental groups. These models were from the AlphaFold2 group, who overall submitted the most accurate predictions in CASP14. Four targets were solved with the aid of the models, and, additionally, the structure of an already solved target was improved. An a posteriori analysis showed that, in some cases, models from other groups would also be effective. This paper provides accounts of the successful application of models to structure determination, including molecular replacement for X-ray crystallography, backbone tracing and sequence positioning in a cryo-electron microscopy structure, and correction of local features. The results suggest that, in future, there will be greatly increased synergy between computational and experimental approaches to structure determination.

R-type bacteriocins are minimal contractile nanomachines that hold promise as precision antibiotics1-4. Each bactericidal complex uses a collar to bridge a hollow tube with a contractile sheath loaded in a metastable state by a baseplate scaffold1,2. Fine-tuning of such nucleic acid-free protein machines for precision medicine calls for an atomic description of the entire complex and contraction mechanism, which is not available from baseplate structures of the (DNA-containing) T4 bacteriophage5. Here we report the atomic model of the complete R2 pyocin in its pre-contraction and post-contraction states, each containing 384 subunits of 11 unique atomic models of 10 gene products. Comparison of these structures suggests the following sequence of events during pyocin contraction: tail fibres trigger lateral dissociation of baseplate triplexes; the dissociation then initiates a cascade of events leading to sheath contraction; and this contraction converts chemical energy into mechanical force to drive the iron-tipped tube across the bacterial cell surface, killing the bacterium.

The functional and biological significance of selected CASP13 targets are described by the authors of the structures. The structural biologists discuss the most interesting structural features of the target proteins and assess whether these features were correctly reproduced in the predictions submitted to the CASP13 experiment.

R-type pyocins are representatives of contractile ejection systems, a class of biological nanomachines that includes, among others, the bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) and contractile bacteriophage tails. We report atomic models of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa precontraction pyocin sheath and tube, and the postcontraction sheath, obtained by cryo-EM at 3.5-Å and 3.9-Å resolutions, respectively. The central channel of the tube is negatively charged, in contrast to the neutral and positive counterparts in T6SSs and phage tails. The sheath is interwoven by long N- and C-terminal extension arms emanating from each subunit, which create an extensive two-dimensional mesh that has the same connectivity in the extended and contracted state of the sheath. We propose that the contraction process draws energy from electrostatic and shape complementarities to insert the inner tube through bacterial cell membranes to eventually kill the bacteria.

Bacteriophages (viruses of bacteria) use a specialized organelle called a tail to deliver their genetic material and proteins across the cell envelope during infection (1-4). In phages with the most [...], Several systems, including contractile tail bacteriophages, the type VI secretion system and R-type pyocins, use a multiprotein tubular apparatus to attach to and penetrate host cell membranes. This macromolecular machine resembles a stretched, coiled spring (or sheath) wound around a rigid tube with a spike-shaped protein at its tip. A baseplate structure, which is arguably the most complex part of this assembly, relays the contraction signal to the sheath. Here we present the atomic structure of the approximately 6-megadalton bacteriophage T4 baseplate in its pre- and post- host attachment states and explain the events that lead to sheath contraction in atomic detail. We establish the identity and function of a minimal set of components that is conserved in all contractile injection systems and show that the triggering mechanism is universally conserved.

Author(s): Mikhail M. Shneider [sup.1] [sup.2] , Sergey A. Buth [sup.1] , Brian T. Ho [sup.3] , Marek Basler [sup.3] , John J. Mekalanos [sup.3] , Petr G. Leiman [sup.1] [...], An X-ray structure of bacterial type VI secretion system components reveals that PAAR family proteins bind at the tip of the VgrG spike, providing new insights into the mechanisms of type VI secretion; experiments using bacteria confirmed the importance of PAAR proteins. A mechanism for T6SS translocation The bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) is an organelle responsible for translocating a range of toxic effector molecules into both bacterial and eukaryotic prey cells. This manuscript describes how proteins from the PAAR-repeat superfamily form a sharp conical extension on the VgrG bacteriophage tail spike, a protein complex involved in penetrating the prey cell, and also have a role in recruiting effectors. These data support a new model for the T6SS in which a sharpened spike is decorated by multiple effectors that are delivered in concert into target cells by a single contraction-driven translocation event. The bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a large multicomponent, dynamic macromolecular machine that has an important role in the ecology of many Gram-negative bacteria. T6SS is responsible for translocation of a wide range of toxic effector molecules, allowing predatory cells to kill both prokaryotic as well as eukaryotic prey cells.sup.1,2,3,4,5. The T6SS organelle is functionally analogous to contractile tails of bacteriophages and is thought to attack cells by initially penetrating them with a trimeric protein complex called the VgrG spike.sup.6,7. Neither the exact protein composition of the T6SS organelle nor the mechanisms of effector selection and delivery are known. Here we report that proteins from the PAAR (proline-alanine-alanine-arginine) repeat superfamily form a sharp conical extension on the VgrG spike, which is further involved in attaching effector domains to the spike. The crystal structures of two PAAR-repeat proteins bound to VgrG-like partners show that these proteins sharpen the tip of the T6SS spike complex. We demonstrate that PAAR proteins are essential for T6SS-mediated secretion and target cell killing by Vibrio cholerae and Acinetobacter baylyi. Our results indicate a new model of the T6SS organelle in which the VgrG-PAAR spike complex is decorated with multiple effectors that are delivered simultaneously into target cells in a single contraction-driven translocation event.

Author(s): Shuji Kanamaru [1, 4]; Petr G. Leiman [1, 4]; Victor A. Kostyuchenko [1, 2]; Paul R. Chipman [1]; Vadim V. Mesyanzhinov [2]; Fumio Arisaka [3]; Michael G. Rossmann (corresponding [...]