Antagonistic interactions between competing species of bacteria are an important driver of bacterial community composition in the human gut microbiota. Of particular significance is the role of the type six secretion system (T6SS), which many species of Gram-negative bacteria use to kill competitor bacteria in a contact-dependent manner. T6SSs are syringe-like nanomachines that function to deliver antibacterial toxins into susceptible competitors. Many bacteria present in the human gut microbiota possess an extremely potent T6SS that is capable of rapidly eradicating nearby bacteria. Remarkably, however, species of beneficial bacteria that coexist in the gut are often resistant to T6SS attack by their neighbours. This resistance is mediated by bacterial immunity proteins that block the activity of the antibacterial toxins delivered by the T6SS. Intriguingly, past studies have shown that the widespread T6SS-mediated competition in the gut has led to the acquisition of repertoires of immunity genes across different bacterial strains.
By examining available human gut metagenomes, I identified a putative immunity locus, named I2, in a species of gut bacteria. This locus is located downstream of its cognate T6SS toxin-encoding locus, E2, and I show when co-expressed with E2 in E. coli, it protects against E2 mediated-toxicity. Additionally, I show that four gut-derived I2 homologues bearing sequence identity levels to I2 ranging from 38% to 75% are equally capable of abrogating E2 toxicity. Using quantitative biophysical measurements, I also show that these I2 homologues physically bind E2 equally tightly pointing to the potential molecular mechanism of toxin neutralization. Lastly, through mutagenesis experiments, I found that the E2-I2 interaction is likely mediated by electrostatic forces between a small number of residues found in the interaction interface of the two proteins. Overall, these findings demonstrate that a human gut microbiome encoded type VI secretion system effector can be neutralized by divergent immunity proteins. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/27863 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Azhieh, Amirahmad |
| Contributors | Whitney, John C, Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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