Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40595659›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Antibacterial microcins are ubiquitous and functionally diverse across bacterial communities.

Jennifer K Parker, Aaron L Feller, Richard Gu, Simon Sanchez-Paiva, Bethany C Perez, Angela C O'Donnell, Wendi Deng, Rita M Ousterhout, Sun-Young Kim, Claus O Wilke and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing 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

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Prevalence and activity of class II microcins inApplied and environmental microbiology · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
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

11 authors.

Jennifer K ParkerDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. jkparker@utexas.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4382-0741
Aaron L FellerDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4476-1026
Richard GuDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Simon Sanchez-PaivaDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Bethany C PerezDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Angela C O'DonnellDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Wendi DengDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-5649-4905
Rita M OusterhoutDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-6157-2565
Sun-Young KimDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Claus O WilkeDepartment of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7470-9261
Bryan W DaviesDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. bwdavies@utexas.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2046-0341

Funding

Investigating nanobodies to target multidrug resistant bacterial pathogensR01AI148419 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · PI DAVIES, BRYAN WILLIAM · 2020 to 2023
$2.8M
Vibrio microcins. A hidden field of targeted anti-cholerae natural products.R01AI182365 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · PI Bryan William Davies · 2024 to 2026
$2.2M
From microcin sequence to function: linking sequence variation to antimicrobial activityR56AI179799 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · PI DAVIES, BRYAN WILLIAM · 2024 to 2024
$726k
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI148419NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI182365NIAID NIH HHS R56 AI179799United States Department of Defense | United States Army | U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command | Army Research Office (ARO) W911NF2010195Welch Foundation F-2137
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bacteria produce antibacterials that drive competition and regulate community composition. While diverse examples have been found, few families of antibacterial agents appear to be widespread across phylogenetically divergent bacteria. Here, we show that what appeared to be a limited, niche class of Gram-negative bacteriocins, called class II microcins, is in fact a highly abundant, sequence- and function-diverse class of secreted bacteriocins. Based on systematic investigations in the Enterobacteriaceae and gut microbiomes, we demonstrate that class II microcins encompass diverse sequence space, bacterial strains of origin, spectra of activity, and mechanisms of action. Importantly, we show microcins discovered here are active against pathogenic E. coli during mouse gut colonization, supporting important roles for these unrecognized antibacterials in vivo. Our study reveals the overlooked abundance and diversity of microcins found dispersed throughout Bacteria and opens opportunities to uncover and exploit mechanisms of competition to modulate microbial communities.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsBacteriaBacteriocinsGastrointestinal MicrobiomeAnimalsEnterobacteriaceaeEscherichia coliMicePhylogenyAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacteriocinsmicrocin

Identifiers

PMID40595659
PMCPMC12219008

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.