Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39438720›Full record

ArticleNature microbiology2024

Systematic discovery of antibacterial and antifungal bacterial toxins.

Nimrod Nachmias, Noam Dotan, Marina Campos Rocha, Rina Fraenkel, Katharina Detert, Monika Kluzek, Maor Shalom, Shani Cheskis, Sonu Peedikayil-Kurien, Gilad Meitav and 11 more

Erratum issuedAbstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature microbiology, 2024. 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 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Secondary Metabolites ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Soil microbiome bacteria protect plants against filamentous fungal infections via intercellular contacts.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors.

Nimrod Nachmias *Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Noam Dotan *Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Marina Campos Rocha *Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Rina FraenkelDepartment of Biological Chemistry, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Katharina DetertInstitute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Department of Food Microbiology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
Monika KluzekDepartment of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2447-699X
Maor ShalomDepartment of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Shani CheskisDepartment of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-0255-2616
Sonu Peedikayil-KurienDepartment of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Gilad MeitavDepartment of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Arbel RivitzDepartment of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Naama Shamash-HalevyDepartment of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Inbar CahanaDepartment of Biological Chemistry, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3030-7666
Noam DeouellDepartment of Biological Chemistry, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7885-4722
Jacob KleinDepartment of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6602-0694
Meital Oren-SuissaDepartment of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9937-8326
Herbert SchmidtInstitute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Department of Food Microbiology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
Neta ShlezingerKoret School of Veterinary Medicine, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0005-0756
Netanel TzarumDepartment of Biological Chemistry, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6401-1356
Yaara Oppenheimer-ShaananDepartment of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Asaf LevyDepartment of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel. alevy@mail.huji.ac.il.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2083-4072

Funding

EC | EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020 | H2020 Priority Excellent Science | H2020 European Research Council (H2020 Excellent Science - European Research Council) Adv. Grant # 743016Israel Science Foundation (ISF) 1535/20Israel Science Foundation (ISF) 1600/21Israel Science Foundation (ISF) 1760/20Israel Science Foundation (ISF) 1818/21Israel Science Foundation (ISF) 3300/20United States - Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD) IS-5492-22 R
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microorganisms use toxins to kill competing microorganisms or eukaryotic cells. Polymorphic toxins are proteins that encode carboxy-terminal toxin domains. Here we developed a computational approach to identify previously undiscovered, conserved toxin domains of polymorphic toxins within 105,438 microbial genomes. We validated nine short toxins, showing that they cause cell death upon heterologous expression in either Escherichia coli or Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Five cognate immunity genes that neutralize the toxins were also discovered. The toxins are encoded by 2.2% of sequenced bacteria. A subset of the toxins exhibited potent antifungal activity against various pathogenic fungi but not against two invertebrate model organisms or macrophages. Experimental validation suggested that these toxins probably target the cell membrane or DNA or inhibit cell division. Further characterization and structural analysis of two toxin-immunity protein complexes confirmed DNase activity. These findings expand our knowledge of microbial toxins involved in inter-microbial competition that may have the potential for clinical and biotechnological applications.

Indexed as

Antifungal AgentsBacterial ToxinsEscherichia coliSaccharomyces cerevisiaeAnimalsAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacteriaComputational BiologyFungiAnti-Bacterial AgentsAntifungal AgentsBacterial Toxins

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.