PIX is an N-terminal delivery domain that defines a class of polymorphic T6SS effectors in Enterobacterales

Andrea Carobbi, Ksenia Leo, Simone Di Nepi, Eran Bosis, Dor Salomon*, Guido Sessa

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The type VI secretion system (T6SS), a widespread protein delivery apparatus, plays a role in bacterial competition by delivering toxic effectors into neighboring cells. Identifying new T6SS effectors and deciphering the mechanism that governs their secretion remain major challenges. Here, we report two orphan antibacterial T6SS effectors in the pathogen Pantoea agglomerans (Pa). These effectors share an N-terminal domain, Pantoea type six (PIX), that defines a widespread class of polymorphic T6SS effectors in Enterobacterales. We show that the PIX domain is necessary and sufficient for T6SS-mediated effector secretion and that PIX binds to a specialized Pa VgrG protein outside its C-terminal toxic domain. Our findings underline the importance of identifying and characterizing delivery domains in polymorphic toxin classes as a tool to reveal effectors and shed light on effector delivery mechanisms.

Original languageEnglish
Article number114015
JournalCell Reports
Volume43
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 23 Apr 2024

Keywords

  • CP: Microbiology
  • PIX domain
  • Pantoea agglomerans
  • T6SS
  • VgrG
  • antibacterial
  • competition
  • effectors
  • secretion

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'PIX is an N-terminal delivery domain that defines a class of polymorphic T6SS effectors in Enterobacterales'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this