Proteolysis is an important process for many aspects of bacterial physiology. Clp proteases
carry out a large proportion of protein degradation in bacteria. These enzymes assemble in
complexes that combine the protease ClpP and the unfoldase, ClpA or ClpX. ClpP
oligomerizes as two stacked heptameric rings enclosing a central chamber containing the
proteolytic sites. ClpX and ClpA assemble into hexameric rings that bind both axial surfaces
of the ClpP tetradecamer forming a barrel-like complex. ClpP requires association with ClpA …