A new study by Umeå University and the University of Washington showed that bacteria can synthesize specific enzymes to degrade the cell membranes of their competitors without damaging their own cell membranes. The article was published in Nature. This discovery will help scientists use bacteria's own weapons to develop new antibacterial drugs. Bacteria secrete toxins that are harmful to host cells and tissues during infection. Interestingly, bacteria also use a similar mechanism when competing with other bacteria. The bacterial secretion system has a syringe-like structure that can inject toxins into other cells.
Among the various secretion systems of bacteria, the type VI secretion system is particularly important for competition among bacteria, and this system exists in many bacterial species. Now researchers have discovered that the special enzyme (phospholidase) secreted by the bacterial type VI system is only effective for competitors, but not for its own cell membranes. Professor Sun Nyunt Wai of the Department of Molecular Biology at Umeå University in Sweden, in collaboration with Professor Joseph D. Mougous of the University of Washington, conducted research on the relevant genes and proteins in the above-mentioned selective defense mechanism. They mainly analyzed the type VI secretion systems of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Vibrio cholerae. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a soil bacterium that can cause serious intestinal, blood and lung infections. Vibrio cholerae is a pathogen that can cause fatal threats. "In order to defend against a large number of predators and competitors in the environment, bacteria have evolved many defense strategies. In this study, we found that bacteria use phospholipases, and phospholipases can degrade the main phospholipid components of cell membranes," Sun Nyunt Wai Say. Studies have shown that while bacteria synthesize this antibacterial substance, they also produce an immune protein to protect themselves from toxins.
To test their theory, the researchers constructed a mutant strain lacking the immune protein. They found that the cell membrane integrity of these mutant strains was severely impaired, and the bacteria were poisoned by phospholipases synthesized by themselves. "Phospholipase is generally considered to be a manifestation of the ability of bacteria to infect. We were surprised to find that this enzyme is also a weapon for bacteria to fight competitors. This research will help people re-understand the importance of phospholipase to bacteria," the first author of the article Dr. Alistair B. Russell said.
The emergence of antibiotics has greatly improved the health of humans, and people are increasingly relying on it, and even once used antibiotics as a panacea. However, the super bacteria that have been spawned by the abuse of antibiotics have caused great concern in the scientific community and even the public. And this research provides people with a potential way to develop new antibacterial drugs, which will help alleviate the current resistance crisis facing antibiotics.
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