The bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) comprise a biologically diverse group of translocation systems functioning to deliver DNA or protein substrates from donor to target cells generally by a mechanism dependent on establishment of direct cell-to-cell contact. Members of one T4SS subfamily, the conjugation systems, mediate the widespread and rapid dissemination of antibiotic resistance and virulence traits among bacterial pathogens. Members of a second subfamily, the effector translocators, are used by often medically-important pathogens to deliver effector proteins to eukaryotic target cells during the course of infection. Here we summarize our current understanding of the structural and functional diversity of T4SSs and of the evolutionary processes shaping this diversity. We compare mechanistic and architectural features of T4SSs from Gram-negative and -positive species. Finally, we introduce the concept of the 'minimized' T4SSs; these are systems composed of a conserved set of 5-6 subunits that are distributed among many Gram-positive and some Gram-negative species.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resmic.2013.03.012 | DOI Listing |
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.
The homo-dodecameric ring-shaped RNA binding attenuation protein (TRAP) from binds up to twelve tryptophan ligands (Trp) and becomes activated to bind a specific sequence in the 5' leader region of the operon mRNA, thereby downregulating biosynthesis of Trp. Thermodynamic measurements of Trp binding have revealed a range of cooperative behavior for different TRAP variants, even if the averaged apparent affinities for Trp have been found to be similar. Proximity between the ligand binding sites, and the ligand-coupled disorder-to-order transition has implicated nearest-neighbor interactions in cooperativity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
January 2025
Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands.
is a Gram-positive bacterium that is responsible for severe nosocomial infections. The rise of multidrug-resistant strains, which can pose significant health threats, prompts the development of new treatment interventions, and much attention has been directed at the development of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccination strategies. Capsular polysaccharides (CPs) are key protective elements of the cell wall and have been proposed as promising candidate antigens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Immunol
January 2025
Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Human recombination-activating gene (RAG) deficiency can manifest with distinct clinical and immunological phenotypes. By applying a multiomics approach to a large group of -mutated patients, we aimed at characterizing the immunopathology associated with each phenotype. Although defective T and B cell development is common to all phenotypes, patients with hypomorphic variants can generate T and B cells with signatures of immune dysregulation and produce autoantibodies to a broad range of self-antigens, including type I interferons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Syst Evol Microbiol
January 2025
Department of Biology, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, 16057, USA.
A polyphasic taxonomic study was carried out on strain T5W1, isolated from the roots of the aquatic plant . This isolate is Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile, aerobic and non-pigmented. Nearly complete 16S rRNA gene sequence homology related the strain to , with 98.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCRISPR J
January 2025
Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
Bacteria and archaea acquire resistance to genetic parasites by preferentially integrating short fragments of foreign DNA at one end of a Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR). "Leader" DNA upstream of CRISPR loci regulates transcription and foreign DNA integration into the CRISPR. Here, we analyze 37,477 CRISPRs from 39,277 bacterial and 556 archaeal genomes to identify conserved sequence motifs in CRISPR leaders.
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