ArticleMolecular microbiology2019
Two pKM101-encoded proteins, the pilus-tip protein TraC and Pep, assemble on the Escherichia coli cell surface as adhesins required for efficient conjugative DNA transfer.
Article in Molecular microbiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Structural basis for TrbM-enhanced conjugation and interbacterial killing in the RP4 plasmid.iScience · 2026Article
- Type IV secretion systems: from structures to mechanisms.The EMBO journal · 2025Review
- Bacterial type IV secretion systems and spread of antimicrobial resistance: a study of potential inhibitors to T4SS-based resistance spread.Archives of microbiology · 2025Review
- Conjugative delivery of toxin genesJournal of bacteriology · 2025Article
- Encounter rates and engagement times limit the transmission of conjugative plasmids.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- Conjugative transfer of the IncN plasmid pKM101 is mediated by dynamic interactions between the TraK accessory factor and TraI relaxase.FEBS letters · 2024Article
- Conjugative type IV secretion systems enable bacterial antagonism that operates independently of plasmid transfer.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Flagellar interference with plasmid uptake in biofilms: a joint experimental and modeling study.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- Systematic investigation of recipient cell genetic requirements reveals important surface receptors for conjugative transfer of IncI2 plasmids.Communications biology · 2023Article
- Ligand-DisplayingbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- Article
- Conjugation's Toolkit: the Roles of Nonstructural Proteins in Bacterial Sex.Journal of bacteriology · 2023Review
- Development of a high-throughput platform to measure plasmid transfer frequency.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- Pan-genome survey of the fish pathogen Yersinia ruckeri links accessory- and amplified genes to virulence.PloS one · 2023Article
- Targeted bacterial conjugation mediated by synthetic cell-to-cell adhesions.Nucleic acids research · 2022Article
- Molecular Mechanisms Influencing Bacterial Conjugation in the Intestinal Microbiota.Frontiers in microbiology · 2021Review
- Structural and Biochemical Analysis of OrfG: The VirB8-like Component of the Conjugative Type IV Secretion System of ICEFrontiers in molecular biosciences · 2021Article
- Role of Recipient Susceptibility Factors During Contact-Dependent Interbacterial Competition.Frontiers in microbiology · 2020Review
- Type IV Coupling Proteins as Potential Targets to Control the Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2020Review
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7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) encode type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) known as conjugation machines for their transmission between bacterial cells. Conjugation machines are composed of an envelope-spanning translocation channel, and those functioning in Gram-negative species additionally elaborate an extracellular pilus to initiate donor-recipient cell contacts. We report that pKM101, a self-transmissible MGE functioning in the Enterobacteriaceae, has evolved a second target cell attachment mechanism. Two pKM101-encoded proteins, the pilus-tip adhesin TraC and a protein termed Pep, are exported to the cell surface where they interact and also form higher order complexes appearing as distinct foci or patches around the cell envelope. Surface-displayed TraC and Pep are required for an efficient conjugative transfer, 'extracellular complementation' potentially involving intercellular protein transfer, and activation of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa type VI secretion system. Both proteins are also required for bacteriophage PRD1 infection. TraC and Pep are exported across the outer membrane by a mechanism potentially involving the β-barrel assembly machinery. The pKM101 T4SS, thus, deploys alternative routing pathways for the delivery of TraC to the pilus tip or both TraC and Pep to the cell surface. We propose that T4SS-encoded, pilus-independent attachment mechanisms maximize the probability of MGE propagation and might be widespread among this translocation superfamily.
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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.