Contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) systems deploy a large family of polymorphic ionophoric toxins for inter-bacterial competition.

ABSTRACT: Contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) is a widespread form of inter-bacterial competition mediated by CdiA effector proteins. CdiA is presented on the inhibitor cell surface and delivers its toxic C-terminal region (CdiA-CT) into neighboring bacteria upon contact. Inhibitor cells also produce CdiI immunity proteins, which neutralize CdiA-CT toxins to prevent auto-inhibition. Here, we describe a diverse group of CDI ionophore toxins that dissipate the transmembrane potential in target bacteria. These CdiA-CT toxins are composed of two distinct domains based on AlphaFold2 modeling. The C-terminal ionophore domains are all predicted to form five-helix bundles capable of spanning the cell membrane. The N-terminal "entry" domains are variable in structure and appear to hijack different inte

SUBMITTER: Halvorsen TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11630599 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature