Audette, Gerald F.Bragagnolo, Nicholas Joseph2020-05-112020-05-112019-092020-05-11https://hdl.handle.net/10315/37421The Escherichia coli F plasmid is representative of conjugative type IV secretion system for the transmission of mobile DNA elements in bacteria, a contributor to widespread antibiotic resistance. The TraG protein of this system consists of a membrane-bound N-terminal domain and a periplasmic C-terminal domain, denoted TraG*. TraG* is essential in preventing redundant DNA transfer. In the donor cell it interacts with TraN within the outer membrane to facilitate mating pair stabilisation. However, TraG* also interacts with a cognate TraS in the inner membrane of the recipient cell to prevent conjugation when the recipient cell carries the same plasmid. This thesis presents structural studies of TraG*; Thermofluor, circular dichroism and HDX-MS experiments showed N-terminal truncation mutants displayed higher stability and less disordered content relative to full-length TraG*. The 45 N-terminal residues of TraG* were predicted to be highly dynamic, possibly serving as a flexible linker between two independently functioning domains.Author owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.Molecular chemistryElectronic Thesis or Dissertation2020-05-11Bacterial ConjugationEntry ExclusionTraGBacteriologyStructural BiochemistryProtein Intrinsic DisorderGram Negative BacteriaAntibiotic ResistanceMass SpectrometryCircular DichroismThermofluorX-Ray CrystallographyProtein Crystallography