Actinobacillus utilizes a binding-protein dependent ABC transporter to acquire Vitamin B6

Bacteria require high efficiency uptake systems to survive and proliferate in nutrient limiting environments, such as those found in the host. The ABC transporters at the bacterial plasma membrane provide a mechanism for transport of many substrates. We recently demonstrated that an AfuABC operon, previously annotated as encoding a ferrous iron uptake system, is in fact a cyclic hexose/heptose-phosphate transporter with high selectivity and specificity for these metabolites. In this study, we examine a second operon containing a periplasmic binding protein discovered in Actinobacillus for its potential role in nutrient acquisition. Using electron density obtained from the crystal structure of the periplasmic binding protein we modeled a pyridoxal-5’-phosphate (P5P/PLP/Vitamin B6) ligand into the atomic resolution electron density map. The identity of the Vitamin B6 bound to this periplasmic binding protein was verified by isothermal titration calorimetry, microscale thermophoresis, and mass spectrometry, leading us to name the protein P5PA and the operon P5PAB. To illustrate the functional utility of this uptake system, we introduced the P5PAB operon from A. pleuropneumoniae into an E. coli K-12 strain that was devoid of a key enzyme required for Vitamin B6 synthesis. The growth of this strain at low levels of Vitamin B6 supports the role of this newly identify operon in Vitamin B6 uptake.