ArticlePLoS genetics2012
Cell contact-dependent outer membrane exchange in myxobacteria: genetic determinants and mechanism.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 112 citations in OpenAlex.
- Engineered kin recognition specificities in the TraA cell surface receptor.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Secretins of type-two secretion systems are necessary for exopolymeric slime secretion in cyanobacteria and myxobacteria.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Milestones in the development ofJournal of bacteriology · 2025Review
- Myxosortase: an intramembrane protease that sorts MYXO-CTERM proteins to the cell surface.mBio · 2025Article
- The Limits of Our Explanation: A Case Study inBiological theory · 2025Article
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- Horizontal gene transfer and beyond: the delivery of biological matter by bacterial membrane vesicles to host and bacterial cells.Current opinion in microbiology · 2024Review
- Cell-cell transfer of adaptation traits benefits kin and actor in a cooperative microbe.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Prokaryotic microvesicles Ortholog of eukaryotic extracellular vesicles in biomedical fields.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2024Review
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- Two reasons to kill: predation and kin discrimination in myxobacteria.Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2023Review
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- Evaluation of Azido 3-Deoxy-d-ACS omega · 2022Article
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- T6SS secretes an LPS-binding effector to recruit OMVs for exploitative competition and horizontal gene transfer.The ISME journal · 2022Article
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- Linking single-cell decisions to collective behaviours in social bacteria.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Bacterial nanotubes as a manifestation of cell death.Nature communications · 2020Article
- Rapid diversification of wild social groups driven by toxin-immunity loci on mobile genetic elements.The ISME journal · 2020Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Biofilms are dense microbial communities. Although widely distributed and medically important, how biofilm cells interact with one another is poorly understood. Recently, we described a novel process whereby myxobacterial biofilm cells exchange their outer membrane (OM) lipoproteins. For the first time we report here the identification of two host proteins, TraAB, required for transfer. These proteins are predicted to localize in the cell envelope; and TraA encodes a distant PA14 lectin-like domain, a cysteine-rich tandem repeat region, and a putative C-terminal protein sorting tag named MYXO-CTERM, while TraB encodes an OmpA-like domain. Importantly, TraAB are required in donors and recipients, suggesting bidirectional transfer. By use of a lipophilic fluorescent dye, we also discovered that OM lipids are exchanged. Similar to lipoproteins, dye transfer requires TraAB function, gliding motility and a structured biofilm. Importantly, OM exchange was found to regulate swarming and development behaviors, suggesting a new role in cell-cell communication. A working model proposes TraA is a cell surface receptor that mediates cell-cell adhesion for OM fusion, in which lipoproteins/lipids are transferred by lateral diffusion. We further hypothesize that cell contact-dependent exchange helps myxobacteria to coordinate their social behaviors.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.