Distribution of the four type VI secretion systems in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and classification of their core and accessory effectors
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Habich, Antonia
Chaves Vargas, Verónica
Robinson, Luca A
Allsopp, Luke P
Unterweger, Daniel
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Bacterial type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) are puncturing molecular machines that transport effector proteins to kill microbes, manipulate eukaryotic cells, or facilitate nutrient uptake. How and why T6SS machines and effectors differ within a species is not fully understood. Here, we applied molecular population genetics to the T6SSs in a global population of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We reveal varying occurrence of up to four distinct T6SS machines. Moreover, we define conserved core T6SS effectors, likely critical for the biology of P. aeruginosa, and accessory effectors that can exhibit mutual exclusivity between strains. By ancestral reconstruction, we observed dynamic changes in the gain and loss of effector genes in the species’ evolutionary history. Our work highlights the potential importance of T6SS intraspecific diversity in bacterial ecology and evolution.
Date Issued
2025-01-21
Date Acceptance
2024-11-14
Citation
Nature Communications, 2025, 16
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Nature Portfolio
Start Page
888
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Volume
16
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39837841
PII: 10.1038/s41467-024-54649-5
Subjects
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Type VI Secretion Systems
Bacterial Proteins
Phylogeny
Evolution, Molecular
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
888
Date Publish Online
2025-01-21