Deamidation disrupts native and transient contacts to weaken the interaction between UBC13 and RING-finger E3 ligases.

The deamidase OspI from enteric bacteria deamidates a glutamine residue in the host ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UBC13 and converts it to glutamate (Q100E). Consequently, its polyubiquitination activity in complex with the RING-finger ubiquitin ligase TRAF6 and the downstream NF-κB inflammatory response is silenced. The precise role of deamidation in silencing the UBC13/TRAF6 complex is unknown.