Growth inhibition of the tuberculosis bacillus by one of its toxins

19 May 2022 par Patricia Siguier
INSB actuality

Some bacteria produce toxins that allow them to control their own growth, thus facilitating a rapid adaptation to different stresses or other aggressions of the immune system.

Pierre Genevaux’s team (LMGM-CBI) and his collaborators have characterized the mechanism of action of one of these toxins present in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the tuberculosis bacillus. The toxin binds to the ribosome and specifically cleaves certain messenger RNAs (mRNA) during translation. This activity is for the first time observed by cryo-electron microscopy.

Figure : Mode of action of the TAC toxin of Mycobacterium tuberculosis © Emmanuel Giudice et Pierre Genevaux

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Substrate recognition and cryo-EM 1 structure of the ribosome-bound TAC toxin of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Moise Mansour, Emmanuel Giudice, Xibing Xu, Hatice Akarsu, Patricia Bordes, Valérie Guillet, Donna-Joe Bigot, Nawel Slama, Gaetano D’urso, Sophie Chat, Peter Redder, Laurent Falquet, Lionel Mourey, Reynald Gillet, Pierre Genevaux
Nature Communications 12 mai 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30373-w

Contact : Pierre Genevaux