The extracellular contractile injection system is enriched in environmental microbes and associates with numerous toxins

Alexander Martin Geller, Inbal Pollin, David Zlotkin, Aleks Danov, Nimrod Nachmias, William B. Andreopoulos, Keren Shemesh and Asaf Levy ()
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Alexander Martin Geller: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Inbal Pollin: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
David Zlotkin: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Aleks Danov: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Nimrod Nachmias: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
William B. Andreopoulos: San Jose State University
Keren Shemesh: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Asaf Levy: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract The extracellular Contractile Injection System (eCIS) is a toxin-delivery particle that evolved from a bacteriophage tail. Four eCISs have previously been shown to mediate interactions between bacteria and their invertebrate hosts. Here, we identify eCIS loci in 1,249 bacterial and archaeal genomes and reveal an enrichment of these loci in environmental microbes and their apparent absence from mammalian pathogens. We show that 13 eCIS-associated toxin genes from diverse microbes can inhibit the growth of bacteria and/or yeast. We identify immunity genes that protect bacteria from self-intoxication, further supporting an antibacterial role for some eCISs. We also identify previously undescribed eCIS core genes, including a conserved eCIS transcriptional regulator. Finally, we present our data through an extensive eCIS repository, termed eCIStem. Our findings support eCIS as a toxin-delivery system that is widespread among environmental prokaryotes and likely mediates antagonistic interactions with eukaryotes and other prokaryotes.

Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-23777-7

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23777-7

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