Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39884275›Full record

ArticleCell host & microbe2025

Competitive behaviors in Serratia marcescens are coordinately regulated by a lifestyle switch frequently inactivated in the clinical environment.

David J Williams, Alexandra Hawkins, Ruth E Hernandez, Giuseppina Mariano, Katharine Mathers, Grant Buchanan, Barnaby J Stonier, Teresa Inkster, Alistair Leanord, James D Chalmers and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell host & microbe, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing 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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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  5. Tldi1 deficiency mediates Tlde1 self-toxic effect to regulate the adaptability ofFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

David J WilliamsSchool of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK; Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton CB10 1SA, UK.
Alexandra HawkinsSchool of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK.
Ruth E HernandezSchool of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK.
Giuseppina MarianoSchool of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK.
Katharine MathersSchool of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK.
Grant BuchananSchool of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK.
Barnaby J StonierSchool of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK.
Teresa InksterAntimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI), Glasgow, Scotland.
Alistair LeanordSchool of Infection and Immunity, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK; Scottish Microbiology Reference Laboratories, Glasgow G31 2ER, UK.
James D ChalmersSchool of Medicine, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, UK.
Nicholas R ThomsonWellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton CB10 1SA, UK; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
Matthew T G HoldenSchool of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9TF, UK.
Sarah J CoulthurstSchool of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK. Electronic address: s.j.coulthurst@dundee.ac.uk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Opportunistic bacterial pathogens must compete with other bacteria and switch between host- and environment-adapted states. Type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) occur widely in gram-negative bacteria and can efficiently kill neighboring competitors. We determined the distribution of T6SSs across the genus Serratia and observed that a highly conserved antibacterial T6SS is differentially active between closely related clinical isolates of Serratia marcescens. By combining genomic and experimental approaches, we identified a genus-core two-component system, BetR-Reg1-Reg2, that controls T6SS activity and exhibits frequent inactivating mutations, exclusively in S. marcescens isolates of clinical origin. This regulatory system controls a number of lifestyle-related traits at transcriptional and post-translational levels, including T6SS activity, antibiotic production, motility, and adhesion, with loss of BetR increasing virulence in an in vivo infection model. Our data support a model whereby this system represents a conserved, modular switch from sessile to pioneering and aggressive behavior, which is subject to selection pressure in clinical environments.

Indexed as

Gene Expression Regulation, BacterialSerratia marcescensType VI Secretion SystemsAnimalsAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial ProteinsHumansMiceSerratia InfectionsVirulenceAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial ProteinsType VI Secretion Systemsbacterial genomics and evolutionclinical adaptationinter-bacterial competitionopportunistic bacterial pathogensSerratia marcescenstype VI secretion system

Identifiers

PMID39884275
PMCPMC7618870

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.