Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40879164›Full record

ArticleThe ISME journal2025

Enrichment of horizontally transferred gene clusters in bacterial extracellular vesicles via non lytic mechanisms.

Sotaro Takano, Satoshi Takenawa, Divya Naradasu, Kangmin Yan, Xinxin Wen, Tomoko Maehara, Nobuhiko Nomura, Nozomu Obana, Masanori Toyofuku, Michihiko Usui and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The ISME journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. 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

12 authors.

Sotaro TakanoResearch Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-2858-6587
Satoshi TakenawaResearch Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
Divya NaradasuResearch Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
Kangmin YanResearch Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
Xinxin WenResearch Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
Tomoko MaeharaResearch Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
Nobuhiko NomuraGraduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan.
Nozomu ObanaMicrobiology Research Center for Sustainability, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan.
Masanori ToyofukuGraduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan.
Michihiko UsuiDivision of Periodontology, Department of Oral Function, Kyushu Dental University, 2 Chome-6-1 Manazuru, Kokurakita Ward, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 803-8580, Japan.
Wataru AriyoshiDivision of Infection and Molecular Biology, Department of Health Promotion, Kyushu Dental University, 2 Chome-6-1 Manazuru, Kokurakita Ward, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 803-8580, Japan.
Akihiro OkamotoResearch Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bacterial extracellular vesicles are emerging as key mediators of horizontal gene transfer, enhancing microbial adaptability. A critical factor determining the effectiveness of horizontal gene transfer is the fraction of vesicles containing specific functional genes. However, the proportion of containing specific DNA fragments has not been adequately determined, which hinders the understanding of the conditions and mechanisms that facilitate the incorporation of specific genes into the vesicles and possible evolutionary roles of vesicle-derived DNA. Here, we demonstrate that enrichment of horizontally transferred genes into bacterial extracellular vesicles is driven by cellular processes by profiling the DNA content of hundreds of individual vesicles using a microdroplet-based sequencing technique. This approach revealed unique DNA profiles in vesicles from the oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis, pinpointing genomic regions related to DNA reorganization such as CRISPR-Cas clusters. Comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses of Porphyromonas genomes revealed traces of horizontal gene transfer in vesicle-enriched genes. Modulating vesicle-biogenesis routes, quantitative real-time PCR revealed that this selective enrichment was driven by blebbing-driven DNA packaging mechanisms rather than stress-induced lysis. Applied to dental plaque-derived bacterial extracellular vesicles, the droplet-based approach reveled O-antigen biosynthetic genes, key for host-bacterial interactions, were prevalent in the vesicles from Alcaligenes faecalis, suggesting the vesicles from this bacterium can modulate pathogenicity in oral biofilms through targeted DNA packaging. These findings suggest the prevalence of functionally relevant gene clusters in bacterial extracellular vesicles in oral microbiota and their evolutionary roles as DNA cargoes for modulating phage-bacterial and host-bacterial interactions via horizontal gene transfer.

Indexed as

Extracellular VesiclesGene Transfer, HorizontalMultigene FamilyPorphyromonas gingivalisDNA, BacterialGenome, BacterialHumansPhylogenyDNA, BacterialCRISPR-Cashorizontal gene transfermembrane vesiclesO-antigen gene clusteroral microbiotaPorphyromonas gingivalis

Identifiers

PMID40879164
PMCPMC12477599

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Registered trials

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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.