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An evolutionary link between capsular biogenesis and surface motility in bacteria

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 13, pages 318–326 (2015)Cite this article

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An Erratum to this article was published on 27 April 2015

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Abstract

Studying the evolution of macromolecular assemblies is important to improve our understanding of how complex cellular structures evolved, and to identify the functional building blocks that are involved. Recent studies suggest that the macromolecular complexes that are involved in two distinct processes in Myxococcus xanthus — surface motility and sporulation — are derived from an ancestral polysaccharide capsule assembly system. In this Opinion article, we argue that the available data suggest that the motility machinery evolved from this capsule assembly system following a gene duplication event, a change in carbohydrate polymer specificity and the acquisition of additional proteins by the motility complex, all of which are key features that distinguish the motility and sporulation systems. Furthermore, the presence of intermediates of these systems in bacterial genomes suggests a testable evolutionary model for their emergence and spread.

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Figure 1: Molecular composition of the core complex, the Agl–Glt machinery and the Agl–Nfs machinery.
Figure 2: The Agl–Glt and Agl–Nfs machineries form a new class of 'spreader' systems that distribute surface polysaccharide to facilitate motility and sporulation.
Figure 3: The Agl motor forms a new class of Mot–Tol–Exb proton-gated motors in bacteria.
Figure 4: Taxonomic distribution and co-occurrence of agl genes and glt and nfs genes in bacteria.

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  • 27 April 2015

    In the above article, the credit lines for Figure 2a,d and Figure 4 were incorrect and have been corrected online. We apologize to the readers for any misunderstanding caused.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank E. Mauriello and J.P. Castaing for comments to improve the manuscript. C.B.-A. is supported by the Investissement d'Avenir grant Ancestrome (ANR-10-BINF-01-01) and is a member of the Institut Universitaire de France. This work was supported by a European Research Council starting grant (DOME 261105) to T.M. and a coup d'élan pour la recherche française award (2011) from the Bettencourt–Schueller foundation to T.M.

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  1. Rym Agrebi, Morgane Wartel and Tâm Mignot are at the Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne, le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) UMR 7283, Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée, Aix-Marseille Université, 31 chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13009 Marseille, France.,

    Rym Agrebi, Morgane Wartel & Tâm Mignot

  2. Céline Brochier-Armanet is at the Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) UMR 5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Évolutive, 43 boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne, France.,

    Céline Brochier-Armanet

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Correspondence to Tâm Mignot.

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Agrebi, R., Wartel, M., Brochier-Armanet, C. et al. An evolutionary link between capsular biogenesis and surface motility in bacteria. Nat Rev Microbiol 13, 318–326 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro3431

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