Flagella-mediated secretion of a novel Vibrio cholerae cytotoxin affecting both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts
Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: Using Caenorhabditis elegans as an infection host model for Vibrio cholerae predator interactions, we discovered a bacterial cytotoxin, MakA, whose function as a virulence factor relies on secretion via the flagellum channel in a proton motive force-dependent manner. The MakA protein is expressed from the polycistronic makDCBA (motility-associated killing factor) operon. Bacteria expressing makDCBA induced dramatic changes in intestinal morphology leading to a defecation defect, starvation and death in C. elegans. The Mak proteins also promoted V. cholerae colonization of the zebrafish gut causing lethal infection. A structural model of purified MakA at 1.9 Å resolution indicated similarities to members of a superfamily of bacterial toxins with unknown biological roles. Our findings reveal an unrecognized role for V. cholerae flagella in cytotoxin export that may contribute both to environmental spread of the bacteria by promoting survival and proliferation in encounters with predators, and to pathophysiological effects during infections.
Source: Communications Biology
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,190
Awards: Bacterial virulence mechanisms of the opportunistic pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii and the versatile pathogen Escherichia coli., MIMS - The Swedish EMBL node for Molecular Medicine, G6841230644, Combinatorials: Novel drugs and drug combinations against bacterial growth, survival and persistence; from high-‐ throughput screening to mechanism of action, G8320246308, Mechanisms and role of "bacterial exosomes" Membrane vesicles from Gram-positive bacteria
OpenAlex ID: W2805990976