A Surface Exposed, Two-Domain Lipoprotein Cargo of a Type XI Secretion System Promotes Colonization of Host Intestinal Epithelia Expressing Glycans.

The only known required component of the newly described Type XI secretion system (TXISS) is an outer membrane protein (OMP) of the DUF560 family. TXISS are broadly distributed across proteobacteria, but properties of the cargo proteins they secrete are largely unexplored. We report biophysical, histochemical, and phenotypic evidence that NilC is surface exposed.

The insect pathogenic bacterium Xenorhabdus innexi has attenuated virulence in multiple insect model hosts yet encodes a potent mosquitocidal toxin.

Background: Xenorhabdus innexi is a bacterial symbiont of Steinernema scapterisci nematodes, which is a cricket-specialist parasite and together the nematode and bacteria infect and kill crickets. Curiously, X. innexi expresses a potent extracellular mosquitocidal toxin activity in culture supernatants.