Two differentially labeled populations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa MICHELE LEROUX, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
A.B. Russell et al., “Type VI secretion delivers bacteriolytic effectors to target cells,” Nature, 475:343-47, 2011. Free F1000 Evaluation
As a major component of the bacterial cell wall, peptidoglycan is both part of a bacterium’s defense strategy and its Achilles heel. Joseph Mougous at the University of Washington and colleagues showed that the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa can oust competitors by using the multiprotein type VI secretion apparatus (T6SS) to degrade a rival’s peptidoglycan. The “elegant” study “made sure every experiment that you’d imagine doing was done,” says Victor DiRita from the University of Michigan.
Previously, researchers thought that T6SS was primarily used to target eukaryotic cells. However, when Mougous and colleagues cultured the bacterium with Pseudomonas putida, P. aeruginosa secreted enzymes that broke the peptidoglycan ...
