SummaryThe type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a widespread molecular weapon deployed by many Proteobacteria to target effectors/toxins into both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. We report that Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a soil bacterium that triggers tumorigenesis in plants, produces a family of type VI DNase effectors (Tde) that are distinct from previously known polymorphic toxins and nucleases. Tde exhibits an antibacterial DNase activity that relies on a conserved HxxD motif and can be counteracted by a cognate immunity protein, Tdi. In vitro, A. tumefaciens T6SS could kill Escherichia coli but triggered a lethal counterattack by Pseudomonas aeruginosa upon injection of the Tde toxins. However, in an in planta coinfection assay, A. tumefaciens used Tde effectors to attack both siblings cells and P. aeruginosa to ultimately gain a competitive advantage. Such acquired T6SS-dependent fitness in vivo and conservation of Tde-Tdi couples in bacteria highlights a widespread antibacterial weapon beneficial for niche colonization.

Type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a macromolecular machine used by many Gram-negative bacteria to inject effectors/toxins into eukaryotic hosts or prokaryotic competitors for survival and fitness. To date, our knowledge of the molecular determinants and mechanisms underlying the transport of these effectors remains limited. Here, we report that two T6SS encoded valine-glycine repeat protein G (VgrG) paralogs in Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 specifically control the secretion and interbacterial competition activity of the type VI DNase toxins Tde1 and Tde2. Deletion and domain-swapping analysis identified that the C-terminal extension of VgrG1 specifically confers Tde1 secretion and Tde1-dependent interbacterial competition activity in planta, and the C-terminal variable region of VgrG2 governs this specificity for Tde2. Functional studies of VgrG1 and VgrG2 variants with stepwise deletion of the C terminus revealed that the C-terminal 31 aa (C31) of VgrG1 and 8 aa (C8) of VgrG2 are the molecular determinants specifically required for delivery of each cognate Tde toxin. Further in-depth studies on Tde toxin delivery mechanisms revealed that VgrG1 interacts with the adaptor/chaperone-effector complex (Tap-1-Tde1) in the absence of proline-alanine-alanine-arginine (PAAR) and the VgrG1-PAAR complex forms independent of Tap-1 and Tde1. Importantly, we identified the regions involved in these interactions. Although the entire C31 segment is required for binding with the Tap-1-Tde1 complex, only the first 15 aa of this region are necessary for PAAR binding. These results suggest that the VgrG1 C terminus interacts sequentially or simultaneously with the Tap-1-Tde1 complex and PAAR to govern Tde1 translocation across bacterial membranes and delivery into target cells for antibacterial activity.type VI secretion system | VgrG | DNase effector | interbacterial competition | Agrobacterium tumefaciens

An intracellular multiplication F (IcmF) family protein is a conserved component of a newly identified type VI secretion system (T6SS) encoded in many animal and plant-associated Proteobacteria. We have previously identified ImpL M , an IcmF family protein that is required for the secretion of the T6SS substrate hemolysincoregulated protein (Hcp) from the plant-pathogenic bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens. In this study, we characterized the topology of ImpL M and the importance of its nucleotide-binding Walker A motif involved in Hcp secretion from A. tumefaciens. A combination of ␤-lactamase-green fluorescent protein fusion and biochemical fractionation analyses revealed that ImpL M is an integral polytopic inner membrane protein comprising three transmembrane domains bordered by an N-terminal domain facing the cytoplasm and a Cterminal domain exposed to the periplasm. impL M mutants with substitutions or deletions in the Walker A motif failed to complement the impL M deletion mutant for Hcp secretion, which provided evidence that ImpL M may bind and/or hydrolyze nucleoside triphosphates to mediate T6SS machine assembly and/or substrate secretion.