Essential protein P116 extracts cholesterol and other indispensable lipids for Mycoplasmas | Biophysics Workshops in South Africa

Essential protein P116 extracts cholesterol and other indispensable lipids for Mycoplasmas


Date

16 Oct 2025 (10am – 11am)

Abstract

Mycoplasma pneumoniae, responsible for approximately 30% of community-acquired human pneumonia, needs to extract lipids from the host environment for survival and proliferation. A comprehensive structural and functional analysis of the protein P116 by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy reveals a homodimer presenting a previously unseen fold, forming a huge hydrophobic cavity, which is fully accessible to solvent. Lipidomics analysis shows that P116 specifically extracts lipids such as phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and cholesterol. Structures of different conformational states reveal the mechanism by which lipids are extracted. This finding immediately suggests a way to control Mycoplasma infection by interfering with lipid uptake.

Hosted by Dr Jeremy Woodward

Speaker

Dr Margot Scheffer

Goethe University Frankfurt

About

Dr. Margot Scheffer is interested in using cryo-electron microscopy and tomography to study and understand various cellular mechanisms, particularly the pathogenesis of Mycoplasma. After completing her MSc in Structural Biology at UCT, she obtained her PhD at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg. Since then, Dr. Scheffer has been at Goethe University Frankfurt, where she works as a senior scientist involved in student supervision, training, and research.