Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41545361›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Mechanism of trans-envelope bacterial polysaccharide secretion in Class-3 outer-membrane polysaccharide export (OPX) protein systems.

Abdelkader Mellouk, Kenny Ngo, Ahmad A Kezzo, Cyrielle Martini, Tanos C C França, Steven R Laplante, Salim T Islam, Charles Calmettes

Erratum issuedAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Abdelkader MelloukInstitut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut Pasteur International Network, Laval, QC, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-3355-2215
Kenny NgoInstitut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut Pasteur International Network, Laval, QC, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2943-4641
Ahmad A KezzoInstitut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut Pasteur International Network, Laval, QC, Canada.
Cyrielle MartiniInstitut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut Pasteur International Network, Laval, QC, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5146-2913
Tanos C C FrançaInstitut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut Pasteur International Network, Laval, QC, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6048-8103
Steven R LaplanteInstitut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut Pasteur International Network, Laval, QC, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2835-5789
Salim T IslamInstitut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut Pasteur International Network, Laval, QC, Canada. salim.islam@inrs.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6853-8446
Charles CalmettesInstitut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut Pasteur International Network, Laval, QC, Canada. charles.calmettes@inrs.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2542-4382

Funding

Gouvernement du Canada | National Research Council Canada (Conseil national de recherches Canada) RGPIN-2017-06091Gouvernement du Canada | National Research Council Canada (Conseil national de recherches Canada) RGPIN-2023-05576
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bacterial secretion of extracellular polysaccharides is essential for surface colonization, biofilm formation, and pathogenesis. In diderm bacteria, such polymers traverse the periplasm and outer membrane (OM) through outer-membrane polysaccharide export (OPX) proteins that form secretion pores. Among them, Class-3 OPX proteins are the most widespread but lack an OM-spanning pore domain, leaving their mechanisms poorly understood. Here, we characterize WzaB from Myxococcus xanthus as a model for Class-3 OPX-mediated secretion. Structural and molecular dynamics analyses reveal that WzaB exists as a rigid monomer in solution, in contrast to the constitutive octamerization observed in Class-1 OPX proteins. Biochemical, biophysical, and in vivo analyses show that WzaB oligomerizes in a lipidation-dependent manner and directly interacts with the OM porin WzpB and the inner-membrane co-polymerase WzcB, with binding determinants mapped for both partners. Together, these proteins assemble into a trans-envelope polysaccharide secretion complex, redefining OPX function and revealing a distinct translocon architecture for Class-3 OPX systems.

Indexed as

Bacterial Outer Membrane ProteinsMyxococcus xanthusPolysaccharides, BacterialBacterial ProteinsMolecular Dynamics SimulationPorinsBacterial Outer Membrane ProteinsBacterial ProteinsPolysaccharides, BacterialPorins

Identifiers

PMID41545361
PMCPMC12819527

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

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.