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tol-pal system-associated acyl-CoA thioesterase The tol-pal system consists of five critical genes. Inner membrane proteins TolQ and TolR convert protomotive force to energy that is transduced through TolA to an outer membrane complex of TolB and Pal. The system is known to be required to maintain outer membrane integrity. In a system with several homologous parts, ExbB and ExbD transduces energy through TonB to a variety of outer membrane proteins, many of which are siderophore receptors. The tol-pal system therefore may also be involved in transport. This family consists of a protein nearly always found in operons with the genes of the tol-pal system. The significance of this thioesterase to the tol-pal system is unclear, but either of two observations may be relevant. First, Pal, or peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein, has a conserved N-terminal cleavage and acylation that makes it a lipoprotein. Second, the tol-pal system is implicated not only in the import of certain organics but also in the maintenance of outer membrane integrity (by an unknown mechanism).
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