Toska, J;
Ho, BT;
Mekalanos, JJ;
(2018)
Exopolysaccharide protects Vibrio cholerae from exogenous attacks by the type 6 secretion system.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)
, 115
(31)
pp. 7997-8002.
10.1073/pnas.1808469115.
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Abstract
The type 6 secretion system (T6SS) is a nanomachine used by many Gram-negative bacteria, including Vibrio cholerae, to deliver toxic effector proteins into adjacent eukaryotic and bacterial cells. Because the activity of the T6SS is dependent on direct contact between cells, its activity is limited to bacteria growing on solid surfaces or in biofilms. V. cholerae can produce an exopolysaccharide (EPS) matrix that plays a role in adhesion and biofilm formation. In this work, we investigated the effect of EPS production on T6SS activity between cells. We found that EPS produced by V. cholerae cells functions as a unidirectional protective armor that blocks exogenous T6SS attacks without interfering with its own T6SS functionality. This EPS armor is effective against both samespecies and heterologous attackers. Mutations modulating the level of EPS biosynthesis gene expression result in corresponding modulation in V. cholerae resistance to exogenous T6SS attack. These results provide insight into the potential role of extracellular biopolymers, including polysaccharides, capsules, and S-layers in protecting bacterial cells from attacks involving cell-associated macromolecular protein machines that cannot readily diffuse through these mechanical defenses.
Type: | Article |
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Title: | Exopolysaccharide protects Vibrio cholerae from exogenous attacks by the type 6 secretion system |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.1808469115 |
Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1808469115 |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND). |
Keywords: | Science & Technology, Multidisciplinary Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics, capsule, secretion, antibacterials, commensal, microbiota, VI-SECRETION, BIOFILM FORMATION, ADAPTER PROTEINS, BACTERIAL-CELLS, TN-SEQ, ANTIBACTERIAL, EFFECTOR, PHAGE, HOST, REQUIRES |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Structural and Molecular Biology |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10111004 |
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