Gray Todd A, Clark Ryan R, Boucher Nathalie, Lapierre Pascal, Smith Carol, Derbyshire Keith M
Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, P.O. Box 22002, Albany, NY 12201-2002, USA.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12201-02002, USA.
Science. 2016 Oct 21;354(6310):347-350. doi: 10.1126/science.aag0828.
Communal bacterial processes require intercellular communication mediated by secretion systems to coordinate appropriate molecular responses. Intercellular communication has not been described previously in mycobacteria. Here we show that the ESX secretion-system family member ESX-4 is essential for conjugal recipient activity in Mycobacterium smegmatis Transcription of esx4 genes in the recipient requires coculture with a donor strain and a functional ESX-1 apparatus in the recipient. Conversely, mutation of the donor ESX-1 apparatus amplifies the esx4 transcriptional response in the recipient. The effect of ESX-1 on esx4 transcription correlates with conjugal DNA transfer efficiencies. Our data show that intercellular communication via ESX-1 controls the expression of its evolutionary progenitor, ESX-4, to promote conjugation between mycobacteria.
群体细菌过程需要由分泌系统介导的细胞间通讯来协调适当的分子反应。细胞间通讯在分枝杆菌中此前尚未被描述。在此我们表明，ESX分泌系统家族成员ESX-4对于耻垢分枝杆菌中的接合受体活性至关重要。受体中esx4基因的转录需要与供体菌株共培养以及受体中有功能性的ESX-1装置。相反，供体ESX-1装置的突变会增强受体中esx4的转录反应。ESX-1对esx4转录的影响与接合DNA转移效率相关。我们的数据表明，通过ESX-1进行的细胞间通讯控制其进化祖先ESX-4的表达，以促进分枝杆菌之间的接合。
