The mycobacterium lipid transporter MmpL3 is dimeric in detergent solution, SMALPs and reconstituted nanodiscs

The mycobacterial membrane protein large 3 (MmpL3) transports key precursor lipids to the outer membrane of Mycobacterium species. Multiple structures of MmpL3 from both M. tuberculosis and M. smegmatis in various conformational states indicate that the protein is both structurally and functionally monomeric. However, most other resistance, nodulation and cell division (RND) transporters structurally characterised to date are either dimeric or trimeric. Here we present an in depth biophysical and computational analysis revealing that MmpL3 from M. smegmatis exists as a dimer in a variety of membrane mimetic systems (SMALPs, detergent-based solution and nanodiscs). Sucrose gradient separation of MmpL3 populations from M. smegmatis, reconstituted into nanodiscs, identified monomeric and dimeric populations of the protein using laser induced liquid bead ion desorption (LILBID), a native mass spectrometry technique. Preliminary cryo-EM analysis confirmed that MmpL3 forms physiological dimers. Untargeted lipidomics experiments on membrane protein co-purified lipids revealed PE and PG lipid classes were predominant. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, in the presence of physiologically-relevant lipid compositions revealed the likely dimer interface. MmpL3 is an essential mycobacterial transporter. Extensive biophysical analysis reveals for the first time that MmpL3 exists as a dimer in different membrane mimetics.