Dynamic remodeling of host membranes by self-organizing bacterial effectors

Abstract

Bacterial effectors manipulate membranes Many pathogenic bacteria use molecular syringes to translocate proteins called effectors into the host cell to hijack the cellular machinery for their proliferation. Legionella pneumophila , the causative bacteria of Legionnaires' disease, uses a large effector arsenal and harnesses the host membrane system to establish a specialized vacuole where it replicates. Hsieh et al. show that, within this effector arsenal, the phospholipid kinase MavQ and the phosphatase SidP work together and self-organize on the intracellular membrane network of its eukaryotic host to promote membrane remodeling. The interactions between MavQ and SidP constitute positive and negative feedback loops, respectively, that orchestrate their spatiotemporal oscillation during infection. Science , aay8118, this issue p. 935