Stepwise assembly and release of Tc toxins from Yersinia entomophaga

2Citations
Citations of this article
9Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Tc toxins are virulence factors of bacterial pathogens. Although their structure and intoxication mechanism are well understood, it remains elusive where this large macromolecular complex is assembled and how it is released. Here we show by an integrative multiscale imaging approach that Yersinia entomophaga Tc (YenTc) toxin components are expressed only in a subpopulation of cells that are ‘primed’ with several other potential virulence factors, including filaments of the protease M66/StcE. A phage-like lysis cassette is required for YenTc release; however, before resulting in complete cell lysis, the lysis cassette generates intermediate ‘ghost’ cells, which may serve as assembly compartments and become packed with assembled YenTc holotoxins. We hypothesize that this stepwise mechanism evolved to minimize the number of cells that need to be killed. The occurrence of similar lysis cassettes in diverse organisms indicates a conserved mechanism for Tc toxin release that may apply to other extracellular macromolecular machines.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Feldmüller, M., Ericson, C. F., Afanasyev, P., Lien, Y. W., Weiss, G. L., Wollweber, F., … Pilhofer, M. (2024). Stepwise assembly and release of Tc toxins from Yersinia entomophaga. Nature Microbiology, 9(2), 405–420. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-024-01611-2

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free