Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Science. 2013 Oct 11;342(6155):250-3. doi: 10.1126/science.1243745.
Gram-negative bacteria use the type VI secretion system (T6SS) to translocate toxic effector proteins into adjacent cells. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa H1-locus T6SS assembles in response to exogenous T6SS attack by other bacteria. We found that this lethal T6SS counterattack also occurs in response to the mating pair formation (Mpf) system encoded by broad-host-range IncPα conjugative plasmid RP4 present in adjacent donor cells. This T6SS response was eliminated by disruption of Mpf structural genes but not components required only for DNA transfer. Because T6SS activity was also strongly induced by membrane-disrupting natural product polymyxin B, we conclude that RP4 induces "donor-directed T6SS attacks" at sites corresponding to Mpf-mediated membrane perturbations in recipient P. aeruginosa cells to potentially block acquisition of parasitic foreign DNA.
革兰氏阴性菌使用六型分泌系统(T6SS)将毒性效应蛋白转运到相邻的细胞中。铜绿假单胞菌 H1 基因座 T6SS 会响应来自其他细菌的外源性 T6SS 攻击而组装。我们发现,这种致命的 T6SS 反击也会响应编码于相邻供体细胞中广泛宿主范围的 IncPα 接合质粒 RP4 的交配对形成(Mpf)系统而发生。这种 T6SS 反应会因 Mpf 结构基因的破坏而消除,但不会因仅需要 DNA 转移的成分而消除。因为 T6SS 活性也会被膜破坏的天然产物多粘菌素 B 强烈诱导,所以我们得出结论,RP4 在与 Mpf 介导的膜扰动相对应的位置诱导“供体定向 T6SS 攻击”,以潜在阻止寄生外来 DNA 的获取。