A new study from the Wadsworth Center and collaborators identifies a protein that regulates cell-to-cell communication in mycobacteria. The paper, titled “WhiB6 Transduces Contact-Dependent Signaling in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Coordinately Induces Both ESX-1 and ESX-4,” has been accepted for publication in the top tier journal, Molecular Microbiology.
This collaborative research was conducted by an interdisciplinary team of scientists at the Wadsworth Center: Jill Canestrari, Emma Gordon, Spencer Bruce, Erica Lasek Nesselquist, Keith Derbyshire, and Todd Gray; together with colleagues from the University of Notre Dame and Central Michigan University. Using the model organism Mycobacterium smegmatis, the team showed that contact between unrelated (non-kin) cells activates a signaling pathway needed for the cell-contact response. Their findings identify specific molecular mechanisms triggered when different M. smegmatis strains directly interact, which may model interactions between pathogenic mycobacteria such as M. tuberculosis or M. abscessus.