Structural insights into higher order assembly and function of the bacterial micro compartment protein PduA

Background: PduA is a major shell protein in 1,2-propanediol utilization micro compartments. Results: The profound influence of Lys-26 and Arg-79 on hexagonal tiling is revealed both in the crystal and in vivo. Conclusion: Interactions seen in the crystal are important for sheet and nanotube assembly in the bacterial cytoplasm. Significance: This work provides knowledge for the engineering of PduA for stability and porosity for synthetic biology applications