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Type VI Secretion Systems: Environmental and Intra-host Competition of Vibrio cholerae. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2023; 1404:41-63. [PMID: 36792870 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-22997-8_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
The Vibrio Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) is a harpoon-like nanomachine that serves as a defense system and is encoded by approximately 25% of all gram-negative bacteria. In this chapter, we describe the structure of the T6SS in different Vibrio species and outline how the use of different T6SS effector and immunity proteins control kin selection. We summarize the genetic loci that encode the structural elements that make up the Vibrio T6SSs and how these gene clusters are regulated. Finally, we provide insights into T6SS-based competitive dynamics, the role of T6SS genetic exchange in those competitive dynamics, and roles for the Vibrio T6SS in virulence.
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Abstract
Genetic editing has revolutionized biotechnology, but delivery of endonuclease genes as DNA can lead to aberrant integration or overexpression, leading to off-target effects. Here, we develop a mechanism to deliver Cre recombinase as a protein by engineering the bacterial type six secretion system (T6SS). Using multiple T6SS fusion proteins, Aeromonas dhakensis or attenuated Vibrio cholerae donor strains, and a gain-of-function cassette for detecting Cre recombination, we demonstrate successful delivery of active Cre directly into recipient cells. The most efficient transfer was achieved using a truncated version of PAAR2 from V. cholerae, resulting in a relatively small (118-amino-acid) delivery tag. We further demonstrate the versatility of this system by delivering an exogenous effector, TseC, enabling V. cholerae to kill Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This implies that P. aeruginosa is naturally resistant to all native effectors of V. cholerae and that the TseC chaperone protein is not required for its activity. Moreover, it demonstrates that the engineered system can improve T6SS efficacy against specific pathogens, proposing future application in microbiome manipulation or as a next-generation antimicrobial. Inexpensive and easy to produce, this protein delivery system has many potential applications, ranging from studying T6SS effectors to genetic editing.
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Fraser A, Prokhorov NS, Jiao F, Pettitt BM, Scheuring S, Leiman PG. Quantitative description of a contractile macromolecular machine. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/24/eabf9601. [PMID: 34117062 PMCID: PMC8195476 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf9601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Contractile injection systems (CISs) [type VI secretion system (T6SS), phage tails, and tailocins] use a contractile sheath-rigid tube machinery to breach cell walls and lipid membranes. The structures of the pre- and postcontraction states of several CISs are known, but the mechanism of contraction remains poorly understood. Combining structural information of the end states of the 12-megadalton R-type pyocin sheath-tube complex with thermodynamic and force spectroscopy analyses and an original modeling procedure, we describe the mechanism of pyocin contraction. We show that this nanomachine has an activation energy of 160 kilocalories/mole (kcal/mol), and it releases 2160 kcal/mol of heat and develops a force greater than 500 piconewtons. Our combined approach provides a quantitative and experimental description of the membrane penetration process by a CIS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alec Fraser
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics (SCSB), The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Nikolai S Prokhorov
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics (SCSB), The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Fang Jiao
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - B Montgomery Pettitt
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics (SCSB), The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Simon Scheuring
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Petr G Leiman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics (SCSB), The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77555, USA.
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TssA-TssM-TagA interaction modulates type VI secretion system sheath-tube assembly in Vibrio cholerae. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5065. [PMID: 33033237 PMCID: PMC7545191 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18807-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The type VI protein secretion system (T6SS) is a powerful needle-like machinery found in Gram-negative bacteria that can penetrate the cytosol of receiving cells in milliseconds by physical force. Anchored by its membrane-spanning complex (MC) and a baseplate (BP), the T6SS sheath-tube is assembled in a stepwise process primed by TssA and terminated by TagA. However, the molecular details of its assembly remain elusive. Here, we systematically examined the initiation and termination of contractile and non-contractile T6SS sheaths in MC-BP, tssA and tagA mutants by fluorescence microscopy. We observe long pole-to-pole sheath-tube structures in the non-contractile MC-BP defective mutants but not in the Hcp tube or VgrG spike mutants. Combining overexpression and genetic mutation data, we demonstrate complex effects of TssM, TssA and TagA interactions on T6SS sheath-tube dynamics. We also report promiscuous interactions of TagA with multiple T6SS components, similar to TssA. Our results demonstrate that priming of the T6SS sheath-tube assembly is not dependent on TssA, nor is the assembly termination dependent on the distal end TssA-TagA interaction, and highlight the tripartite control of TssA-TssM-TagA on sheath-tube initiation and termination.
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Hersch SJ, Watanabe N, Stietz MS, Manera K, Kamal F, Burkinshaw B, Lam L, Pun A, Li M, Savchenko A, Dong TG. Envelope stress responses defend against type six secretion system attacks independently of immunity proteins. Nat Microbiol 2020; 5:706-714. [PMID: 32094588 PMCID: PMC7190449 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-020-0672-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The arms race among microbes is a key driver in the evolution of not only the weapons but also defence mechanisms. Many gram-negative bacteria use the type six secretion system (T6SS) to deliver toxic effectors directly into neighbouring cells. Defence against effectors requires cognate immunity proteins. However, here we show immunity-independent protection mediated by envelope stress responses in Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae against a V. cholerae T6SS effector, TseH. We demonstrate that TseH is a PAAR-dependent species-specific effector highly potent against Aeromonas species but not against its V. cholerae immunity mutant or E. coli. Structural analysis reveals TseH is likely a NlpC/P60 family cysteine endopeptidase. We determine that two envelope stress response pathways, Rcs and BaeSR, protect E. coli from TseH toxicity by mechanisms including capsule synthesis. The two-component system WigKR (VxrAB) is critical for protecting V. cholerae from its own T6SS despite expressing immunity genes. WigR also regulates T6SS expression, suggesting a dual role in attack and defence. This deepens our understanding of how bacteria survive T6SS attacks and suggests that defending against the T6SS represents a major selective pressure driving the evolution of species-specific effectors and protective mechanisms mediated by envelope stress responses and capsule synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J Hersch
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Nobuhiko Watanabe
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Maria Silvina Stietz
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Kevin Manera
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Fatima Kamal
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Brianne Burkinshaw
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Linh Lam
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Alexander Pun
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Meixin Li
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Alexei Savchenko
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Tao G Dong
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada. .,State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
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From Wall to Wall: How the Type 6 Secretion System Knows To Stop Growing. J Bacteriol 2019; 202:JB.00647-19. [PMID: 31636106 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00647-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
There is an inseverable link between the size of a cell and the size of its subcellular components. The type 6 secretion system (T6SS) is no exception. In this issue, Stietz et al. report their analysis of the T6SS under conditions in which the cell size was altered to an extreme degree (M. S. Stietz, X. Liang, M. Wong, S. Hersch, and T. G. Dong, J Bacteriol 202:e00425-19, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.00425-19). That study and others investigating the regulation of T6SS filament polymerization have provided insight into how the T6SS apparatus matches its size to the cell that contains it.
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