Department of Pathology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa , Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
Department of Microbiology, University of Washington School of Medicine , Seattle, Washington, USA.
mBio. 2023 Aug 31;14(4):e0103923. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01039-23. Epub 2023 Jun 22.
Bacteroidales use type VI secretion systems (T6SS) to competitively colonize and persist in the colon. We identify a horizontally transferred T6SS with Ntox15 family nuclease effector (Tde1) that mediates interbacterial antagonism among Bacteroidales, including several derived from a single human donor. Expression of cognate (Tdi1) or orphan immunity proteins in acquired interbacterial defense systems protects against Tde1-dependent attack. We find that immunity protein interaction induces a large effector conformational change in Tde nucleases, disrupting the active site and altering the DNA-binding site. Crystallographic snapshots of isolated Tde1, the Tde1/Tdi1 complex, and homologs from (Tde2/Tdi2) illustrate a conserved mechanism of immunity inserting into the central core of Tde, splitting the nuclease fold into two subdomains. The Tde/Tdi interface and immunity mechanism are distinct from all other polymorphic toxin-immunity interactions of known structure. Bacteroidales abundance has been linked to inflammatory bowel disease activity in prior studies, and we demonstrate that Tde and T6SS structural genes are each enriched in fecal metagenomes from ulcerative colitis subjects. Genetically mobile Tde1-encoding T6SS in Bacteroidales mediate competitive growth and may be involved in inflammatory bowel disease. Broad immunity is conferred by Tdi1 homologs through a fold-disrupting mechanism unique among polymorphic effector-immunity pairs of known structure. IMPORTANCE Bacteroidales are related to inflammatory bowel disease severity and progression. We identify type VI secretion system (T6SS) nuclease effectors (Tde) which are enriched in ulcerative colitis and horizontally transferred on mobile genetic elements. Tde-encoding T6SSs mediate interbacterial competition. Orphan and cognate immunity proteins (Tdi) prevent intoxication by multiple Tde through a new mechanism among polymorphic toxin systems. Tdi inserts into the effector central core, splitting Ntox15 into two subdomains and disrupting the active site. This mechanism may allow for evolutionary diversification of the Tde/Tdi interface as observed in colicin nuclease-immunity interactions, promoting broad neutralization of Tde by orphan Tdi. Tde-dependent T6SS interbacterial antagonism may contribute to Bacteroidales diversity in the context of ulcerative colitis.
拟杆菌门利用六型分泌系统(T6SS)在结肠中进行竞争定植和持续存在。我们发现一种水平转移的 T6SS,带有 Ntox15 家族核酸酶效应物(Tde1),介导拟杆菌门之间的细菌间拮抗作用,包括来自单个人类供体的几种。获得性细菌间防御系统中同源(Tdi1)或孤儿免疫蛋白的表达可防止 Tde1 依赖性攻击。我们发现,免疫蛋白相互作用诱导 Tde 核酸酶发生大的效应子构象变化,破坏活性位点并改变 DNA 结合位点。分离的 Tde1、Tde1/Tdi1 复合物以及来自 (Tde2/Tdi2)的同源物的晶体快照说明了一种保守的免疫机制,该机制插入到 Tde 的中央核心中,将核酸酶折叠分成两个亚结构域。Tde/Tdi 界面和免疫机制与所有其他已知结构的多态性毒素-免疫相互作用不同。在先前的研究中,拟杆菌门的丰度与炎症性肠病的活动有关,我们证明 Tde 和 T6SS 结构基因在溃疡性结肠炎患者的粪便宏基因组中都富集。在拟杆菌门中,遗传可移动的 Tde1 编码 T6SS 通过一种独特的机制介导竞争生长,并且可能与炎症性肠病有关。广泛的免疫是通过 Tdi1 同源物赋予的,通过一种独特的折叠破坏机制,这种机制在已知结构的多态性效应物-免疫对中是独特的。重要性 拟杆菌门与炎症性肠病的严重程度和进展有关。我们鉴定了 T6SS 核酸酶效应物(Tde),它们在溃疡性结肠炎中丰富,并在可移动的遗传元件上水平转移。Tde 编码的 T6SS 介导细菌间竞争。孤儿和同源免疫蛋白(Tdi)通过多态性毒素系统中的一种新机制防止多种 Tde 的中毒。Tdi 插入效应物中央核心,将 Ntox15 分裂成两个亚结构域并破坏活性位点。这种机制可能允许 Tde/Tdi 界面在 colicin 核酸酶-免疫相互作用中观察到的进化多样化,从而通过孤儿 Tdi 广泛中和 Tde。依赖于 Tde 的 T6SS 细菌间拮抗作用可能有助于溃疡性结肠炎背景下拟杆菌门的多样性。