Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41690916›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Ancestral neuronal receptors are bacterial accessory toxins.

Finaritra Raoelijaona, Joanna Szczepaniak, Adrien Schahl, James E Bray, Jin Chuan Zhou, Lindsay Baker, Kamel El Omari, Edward Lowe, Yu Shang Low, Chandra M Rodriguez and 6 more

Abstract 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. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

16 authors.

Finaritra RaoelijaonaDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Joanna Szczepaniak *Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2441-6310
Adrien Schahl *IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5839-7715
James E Bray *Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3554-4254
Jin Chuan Zhou *Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5716-5170
Lindsay BakerDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9578-4263
Kamel El OmariDiamond Light Source, Didcot, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3506-6045
Edward LoweDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1757-0208
Yu Shang LowSchool of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9583-0282
Chandra M RodriguezSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4040-606X
Michael J LandsbergSchool of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2464-990X
J Shaun LottSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3660-452X
Colin KleanthousDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3273-0302
Matthieu ChaventIPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France. matthieu.chavent@univ-tlse3.fr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4524-4773
Martin Cj MaidenDepartment of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. martin.maiden@biology.ox.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6321-5138
Elena SeiradakeDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. elena.seiradake@bioch.ox.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6112-5198

Funding

European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) EMBO Young Investigator ProgrammeWellcome Trust (Wellcome) 202827/Z/16/ZWellcome Trust (Wellcome) 218205/Z/19/ZWellcome Trust (Wellcome) 226647/Z/22/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Horizontal gene transfer events were crucial in the emergence of multicellular life. A striking example is the acquisition of Teneurins, putative surface-exposed toxins in bacteria that function as cell adhesion receptors in metazoan neuronal development. Here, we demonstrate the evolutionary relationships between metazoan and bacterial Teneurins. We use cryogenic electron microscopy and bioinformatic analysis to show that bacterial Teneurins harbour a toxic protein in a proteinaceous shell. They are rare but widely distributed across bacterial taxa and are predominantly seen in species with complex social behaviours, suggesting roles in cell-to-cell interaction. This work confirms that metazoan Teneurins are repurposed bacterial toxins that have evolved to be essential mediators of intercellular communication in all advanced nervous systems. Their acquisition was a key event in the evolution of metazoans.

Indexed as

BacteriaBacterial ProteinsBacterial ToxinsNeuronsAnimalsCryoelectron MicroscopyEvolution, MolecularGene Transfer, HorizontalPhylogenyBacterial ProteinsBacterial Toxins

Identifiers

PMID41690916
PMCPMC13018210

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.