A shared mechanism for Bacteroidota protein transport and gliding motility
Open Access
- 20 November 2025
- journal article
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature Communications
- Vol. 16 (1) , 10217
Abstract
Bacteria of the phylum Bacteroidota are major human commensals and pathogens in addition to being abundant members of the wider biosphere. Bacteroidota move by gliding and they export proteins using the Type 9 Secretion System (T9SS). Here we discover that gliding motility and the T9SS share an unprecedented mechanism of energisation in which outer membrane proteins are covalently attached by disulfide bonds to a moving internal track structure that propels them laterally through the membrane. We determined the structure of an exemplar Bacteroidota mobile track by obtaining the cryoEM structure of a 3 MDa circular mini-track from Porphyromonas gingivalis . Our discoveries identify a mechanistic and evolutionary link between gliding motility and T9SS-dependent protein transport.Keywords
This publication has 68 references indexed in Scilit:
- Structural and functional analyses of the Porphyromonas gingivalis type IX secretion system PorN proteinJournal of Biological Chemistry, 2022
- UCSF ChimeraX: Structure visualization for researchers, educators, and developersProtein Science, 2020
- Structural Characterization of the Type IX Secretion System in Porphyromonas gingivalis2020
- MolProbity: More and better reference data for improved all‐atom structure validationProtein Science, 2017
- The Screw-Like Movement of a Gliding Bacterium Is Powered by Spiral Motion of Cell-Surface AdhesinsBiophysical Journal, 2016
- Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiomeNature, 2012
- Detecting Folding Intermediates of a Protein as It Passes through the Bacterial Translocation ChannelCell, 2009
- Outer Membrane Proteome and Antigens of Tannerella forsythiaJournal of Proteome Research, 2009
- Enzymatic assembly of DNA molecules up to several hundred kilobasesNature Methods, 2009
- Molecular Basis for Multiple Sulfatase Deficiency and Mechanism for Formylglycine Generation of the Human Formylglycine-Generating EnzymeCell, 2005