ArticleNature communications2020
Bacterial nanotubes as a manifestation of cell death.
Article in Nature communications, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 28 papers.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed.
- Bacterial nanotubes extend from a tubeosome organelle to establish an intercellular bridge.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Advancements in Technologies Targeting Horizontal Gene TransferRoutes to Control Drug Resistance Evolution.ACS bio & med chem Au · 2026Review
- A family of endonucleases blocks nanotube-mediated plasmid exchange.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- Review
- Intercellular signal transduction within the mother cell compartment during Bacillus subtilis sporulation.FEMS microbiology letters · 2026Article
- Specific role of two NlpC/P60 endopeptidases in cell division and membrane vesicle formation inCurrent research in microbial sciences · 2026Article
- Genomic, Evolutionary and Phenotypic Insights intoViruses · 2025Article
- Physical communication pathways in bacteria: an extra layer to quorum sensing.Biophysical reviews · 2025Review
- Antibiotic fosmidomycin protects bacteria from cell wall perturbations by antagonizing oxidative damage-mediated cell lysis.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Atomic Force Microsocopy: Key Unconventional Approach for Bacterial Nanotubes Characterization In Vivo.ACS omega · 2024Article
- Horizontal gene transfer and beyond: the delivery of biological matter by bacterial membrane vesicles to host and bacterial cells.Current opinion in microbiology · 2024Review
- Direct interaction between marine cyanobacteria mediated by nanotubes.Science advances · 2024Article
- Unseen Weapons: Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles and the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance in Aquatic Environments.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Review
- A bioorthogonal chemistry approach to detect the K1 polysialic acid capsule inRSC chemical biology · 2023Article
- Article
- Nanotubes Formation inCells · 2022Article
- LEGO-Lipophosphonoxins: A Novel Approach in Designing Membrane Targeting Antimicrobials.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2022Article
- Phage Genes Induce Quorum Sensing Signal Release through Membrane Vesicle Formation.Microbes and environments · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Bacterial nanotubes are membranous structures that have been reported to function as conduits between cells to exchange DNA, proteins, and nutrients. Here, we investigate the morphology and formation of bacterial nanotubes using Bacillus subtilis. We show that nanotube formation is associated with stress conditions, and is highly sensitive to the cells' genetic background, growth phase, and sample preparation methods. Remarkably, nanotubes appear to be extruded exclusively from dying cells, likely as a result of biophysical forces. Their emergence is extremely fast, occurring within seconds by cannibalizing the cell membrane. Subsequent experiments reveal that cell-to-cell transfer of non-conjugative plasmids depends strictly on the competence system of the cell, and not on nanotube formation. Our study thus supports the notion that bacterial nanotubes are a post mortem phenomenon involved in cell disintegration, and are unlikely to be involved in cytoplasmic content exchange between live cells.
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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.