生物
效应器
VI型分泌系统
竞赛(生物学)
细胞生物学
分泌物
微生物学
生态学
毒力
遗传学
生物化学
基因
作者
Song Li,Lei Xu,Tong Wu,Zhenkun Shi,Hafiz Abdul Kareem,Zhuo Wang,Qingyun Dai,Chenghao Guo,Junfeng Pan,Mingming Yang,Xiaomeng Wei,Yao Wang,Gehong Wei,Xihui Shen
标识
DOI:10.1093/ismejo/wrad028
摘要
Abstract The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a bacterial weapon capable of delivering antibacterial effectors to kill competing cells for interference competition, as well as secreting metal ion scavenging effectors to acquire essential micronutrients for exploitation competition. However, no T6SS effectors that can mediate both interference competition and exploitation competition have been reported. In this study, we identified a unique T6SS-1 effector in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis named TepC, which plays versatile roles in microbial communities. First, secreted TepC acts as a proteinaceous siderophore that binds to iron and mediates exploitative competition. Additionally, we discovered that TepC has DNase activity, which gives it both contact-dependent and contact-independent interference competition abilities. In conditions where iron is limited, the iron-loaded TepC is taken up by target cells expressing the outer membrane receptor TdsR. For kin cells encoding the cognate immunity protein TipC, TepC facilitates iron acquisition, and its toxic effects are neutralized. On the other hand, non-kin cells lacking TipC are enticed to uptake TepC and are killed by its DNase activity. Therefore, we have uncovered a T6SS effector, TepC, that functions like a “Trojan horse” by binding to iron ions to provide a valuable resource to kin cells, whereas punishing cheaters that do not produce public goods. This lure-to-kill mechanism, mediated by a bifunctional T6SS effector, may offer new insights into the molecular mechanisms that maintain stability in microbial communities.
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