A Salmonella type three secretion effector/chaperone complex adopts a hexameric ring-like structure

Evolutionary Conservation, Variability, and Adaptation of Type III Secretion Systems

Type III secretion (T3S) systems are complex bacterial structures used by many pathogens to inject proteins directly into the cytosol of the host cell. These secretion machines evolved from the bacterial flagella and they have been grouped into families by phylogenetic analysis. The T3S system is composed of more than 20 proteins grouped into five complexes: the cytosolic platform, the export apparatus, the basal body, the needle, and the translocon complex. While the proteins located inside the bacterium are conserved, those exposed to the external media present high variability among families. This suggests that the T3S systems have adapted to interact with different cells or tissues in the host, and/or have been subjected to the evolutionary pressure of the host immune defenses. Such adaptation led to changes in the sequence of the T3S needle tip and translocon suggesting differences in the mechanism of assembly and structure of this complex.

Structural and enzymatic characterisation of the Type III effector NopAA (=GunA) from Sinorhizobium fredii USDA257 reveals a Xyloglucan hydrolase activity

Rhizobia are nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria that can infect legume plants to establish root nodules symbiosis. To do that, a complex exchange of molecular signals occurs between plants and bacteria. Among them, rhizobial Nops (Nodulation outer proteins), secreted by a type III secretion system (T3SS) determine the host-specificity for efficient symbiosis with plant roots. Little is known about the molecular function of secreted Nops (also called effectors (T3E)) and their role in the symbiosis process. We performed the structure-function characterization of NopAA, a T3E from Sinorhizobium fredii by using a combination of X-ray crystallography, biochemical and biophysical approaches. This work displays for the first time a complete structural and biochemical characterization of a symbiotic T3E. Our results showed that NopAA has a catalytic domain with xyloglucanase activity extended by a N-terminal unfolded secretion domain that allows its secretion. We proposed that these original structural properties combined with the specificity of NopAA toward xyloglucan, a key component of root cell wall which is also secreted by roots in the soil, can give NopAA a strategic position to participate in recognition between bacteria and plant roots and to intervene in nodulation process.

Enhancement of immune response against Bordetella spp. by disrupting immunomodulation

Well-adapted pathogens must evade clearance by the host immune system and the study of how they do this has revealed myriad complex strategies and mechanisms. Classical bordetellae are very closely related subspecies that are known to modulate adaptive immunity in a variety of ways, permitting them to either persist for life or repeatedly infect the same host. Exploring the hypothesis that exposure to immune cells would cause bordetellae to induce expression of important immunomodulatory mechanisms, we identified a putative regulator of an immunomodulatory pathway. The deletion of btrS in B. bronchiseptica did not affect colonization or initial growth in the respiratory tract of mice, its natural host, but did increase activation of the inflammasome pathway, and recruitment of inflammatory cells. The mutant lacking btrS recruited many more B and T cells into the lungs, where they rapidly formed highly organized and distinctive Bronchial Associated Lymphoid Tissue (BALT) not induced by any wild type Bordetella species, and a much more rapid and strong antibody response than observed with any of these species. Immunity induced by the mutant was measurably more robust in all respiratory organs, providing completely sterilizing immunity that protected against challenge infections for many months. Moreover, the mutant induced sterilizing immunity against infection with other classical bordetellae, including B. pertussis and B. parapertussis, something the current vaccines do not provide. These findings reveal profound immunomodulation by bordetellae and demonstrate that by disrupting it much more robust protective immunity can be generated, providing a pathway to greatly improve vaccines and preventive treatments against these important pathogens.

The Structure and Function of Type III Secretion Systems

Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) afford Gram-negative bacteria an intimate means of altering the biology of their eukaryotic hosts--the direct delivery of effector proteins from the bacterial cytoplasm to that of the eukaryote. This incredible biophysical feat is accomplished by nanosyringe "injectisomes," which form a conduit across the three plasma membranes, peptidoglycan layer, and extracellular space that form a barrier to the direct delivery of proteins from bacterium to host. The focus of this chapter is T3SS function at the structural level; we will summarize the core findings that have shaped our understanding of the structure and function of these systems and highlight recent developments in the field. In turn, we describe the T3SS secretory apparatus, consider its engagement with secretion substrates, and discuss the posttranslational regulation of secretory function. Lastly, we close with a discussion of the future prospects for the interrogation of structure-function relationships in the T3SS.

The Architecture of the Cytoplasmic Region of Type III Secretion Systems

Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are essential devices in the virulence of many Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. They mediate injection of protein effectors of virulence from bacteria into eukaryotic host cells to manipulate them during infection. T3SSs involved in virulence (vT3SSs) are evolutionarily related to bacterial flagellar protein export apparatuses (fT3SSs), which are essential for flagellar assembly and cell motility. The structure of the external and transmembrane parts of both fT3SS and vT3SS is increasingly well-defined. However, the arrangement of their cytoplasmic and inner membrane export apparatuses is much less clear. Here we compare the architecture of the cytoplasmic regions of the vT3SSs of Shigella flexneri and the vT3SS and fT3SS of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium at ~5 and ~4 nm resolution using electron cryotomography and subtomogram averaging. We show that the cytoplasmic regions of vT3SSs display conserved six-fold symmetric features including pods, linkers and an ATPase complex, while fT3SSs probably only display six-fold symmetry in their ATPase region. We also identify other morphological differences between vT3SSs and fT3SSs, such as relative disposition of their inner membrane-attached export platform, C-ring/pods and ATPase complex. Finally, using classification, we find that both types of apparatuses can loose elements of their cytoplasmic region, which may therefore be dynamic.

Type III secretion systems: the bacterial flagellum and the injectisome

The flagellum and the injectisome are two of the most complex and fascinating bacterial nanomachines. At their core, they share a type III secretion system (T3SS), a transmembrane export complex that forms the extracellular appendages, the flagellar filament and the injectisome needle. Recent advances, combining structural biology, cryo-electron tomography, molecular genetics, in vivo imaging, bioinformatics and biophysics, have greatly increased our understanding of the T3SS, especially the structure of its transmembrane and cytosolic components, the transcriptional, post-transcriptional and functional regulation and the remarkable adaptivity of the system. This review aims to integrate these new findings into our current knowledge of the evolution, function, regulation and dynamics of the T3SS, and to highlight commonalities and differences between the two systems, as well as their potential applications.

The Salmonella type III secretion system virulence effector forms a new hexameric chaperone assembly for export of effector/chaperone complexes

Bacteria hijack eukaryotic cells by injecting virulence effectors into host cytosol with a type III secretion system (T3SS). Effectors are targeted with their cognate chaperones to hexameric T3SS ATPase at the bacterial membrane's cytosolic face. In this issue of the Journal of Bacteriology, Roblin et al. (P. Roblin, F. Dewitte, V. Villeret, E. G. Biondi, and C. Bompard, J Bacteriol 197:688-698, 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JB.02294-14) show that the T3SS chaperone SigE of Salmonella can form hexameric rings rather than dimers when bound to its cognate effector, SopB, implying a novel multimeric association for chaperone/effector complexes with their ATPase.