Many infectious Gram-negative bacteria, including Salmonella typhimurium, require a Type Three Secretion System (T3SS) to translocate virulence factors into host cells. The T3SS consists of a membrane protein complex and an extracellular needle together that form a continuous channel. Regulated secretion of virulence factors requires the presence of SipD at the T3SS needle tip in S. typhimurium. Here we report three-dimensional structures of individual SipD, SipD in fusion with the needle subunit PrgI, and of SipD:PrgI in complex with the bile salt, deoxycholate. Assembly of the complex involves major conformational changes in both SipD and PrgI. This rearrangement is mediated via a π bulge in the central SipD helix and is stabilized by conserved amino acids that may allow for specificity in the assembly and composition of the tip proteins. Five copies each of the needle subunit PrgI and SipD form the T3SS needle tip complex. Using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy and crystal structure analysis we found that the T3SS needle tip complex binds deoxycholate with micromolar affinity via a cleft formed at the SipD:PrgI interface. In the structure-based three-dimensional model of the T3SS needle tip, the bound deoxycholate faces the host membrane. Recently, binding of SipD with bile salts present in the gut was shown to impede bacterial infection. Binding of bile salts to the SipD:PrgI interface in this particular arrangement may thus inhibit the T3SS function. The structures presented in this study provide insight into the open state of the T3SS needle tip. Our findings present the atomic details of the T3SS arrangement occurring at the pathogen-host interface.

Gram-negative bacteria use the type 3 secretion system (T3SS) to colonize host cells. T3SSs are ring-shaped macromolecular complexes specific for the transport of effector molecules into host cells. It was recently suggested that a cytosolic ring-shaped protein complex delivers effector molecules to the T3SS. However, how transport of effector proteins is regulated is not known. Here, we report the high-resolution X-ray crystal structure of the whole cytosolic domain of MxiG (MxiG(1-126)), a major component of the inner T3SS rings in Shigella flexneri. MxiG(1-126) folds as an FHA domain, which specifically binds phosphorylated threonines. Indeed, MxiG(1-126) binds to Spa33, a cytoplasmic-ring component of Shigella, as revealed in pulldown studies. Surface plasmon resonance analysis showed specific interaction of MxiG with a Spa33 peptide only if phosphorylated. In total, 24 copies of the MxiG(1-126) crystal structure were fitted into the cryo-EM map of the Shigella T3SS. The phosphoprotein binding site of each MxiG molecule faces the channel of the T3SS, allowing interaction with cytosolic binding partners. Secretion assays and host cell invasion studies of complemented Shigella knockout cells indicated that the phosphoprotein binding of MxiG is essential for bacterial virulence. Our findings suggest that MxiG is involved in T3SS regulation.