Liang Congying, Lin Lu, Wang Xiaoyan, Zhu Wenping
Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China.
Commun Biol. 2025 Aug 30;8(1):1318. doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-08749-7.
The secretion of ligninolytic enzyme provides a competitive advantage for microbial survival. These enzymes are commonly transported to the extracellular milieu via signal peptides for the catabolism of lignin, which cannot be translocated through the cell membrane. However, some bacterial ligninolytic enzymes lack signal peptides, yet they can still be secreted. It remains unclear how these unconventional proteins cross the cell membrane. Here, we reveal a secretion mechanism for the unconventional B-type dye-decolorizing peroxidase (DypB) in Pseudomonas putida A514. Type VI secretion system (T6SS) mediates the inner membrane channel, where interaction of DypB with the T6SS components VgrG and Hcp accounts for periplasmic delivery. Once in the periplasm, DypB is allocated into outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) and released to the extracellular space. The crosslinked translocation model for DypB delivery represents an ingenious mechanism by which bacteria harness extant systems to thrive in a nutrient-poor environment. Moreover, we develop an OMV-surface display platform to improve DypB secretion and further enhance lignin utilization, exemplifying the applicability of OMVs as a lignin biocatalytic nanoreactor. Our study demonstrates the previously unrecognized crosslinking of T6SS and OMVs for the secretion of unconventional ligninolytic peroxidase and provides new perspectives on its biotechnological applications.
木质素分解酶的分泌为微生物的生存提供了竞争优势。这些酶通常通过信号肽转运到细胞外环境中,用于分解无法通过细胞膜转运的木质素。然而,一些细菌木质素分解酶缺乏信号肽,但它们仍能分泌。目前尚不清楚这些非常规蛋白质是如何穿过细胞膜的。在此,我们揭示了恶臭假单胞菌A514中非常规B型染料脱色过氧化物酶(DypB)的分泌机制。VI型分泌系统(T6SS)介导内膜通道,DypB与T6SS组分VgrG和Hcp的相互作用导致其在周质中的递送。一旦进入周质,DypB就被分配到外膜囊泡(OMV)中并释放到细胞外空间。DypB递送的交联转运模型代表了一种巧妙的机制,细菌利用现存系统在营养匮乏的环境中茁壮成长。此外,我们开发了一个OMV表面展示平台来改善DypB的分泌并进一步提高木质素的利用率,例证了OMV作为木质素生物催化纳米反应器的适用性。我们的研究证明了T6SS和OMV以前未被认识到的交联作用,用于非常规木质素分解过氧化物酶的分泌,并为其生物技术应用提供了新的视角。