ジャーナル: Elife / 年: 2019 タイトル: A contractile injection system stimulates tubeworm metamorphosis by translocating a proteinaceous effector. 著者: Charles F Ericson / Fabian Eisenstein / João M Medeiros / Kyle E Malter / Giselle S Cavalcanti / Robert W Zeller / Dianne K Newman / Martin Pilhofer / Nicholas J Shikuma / 要旨: The swimming larvae of many marine animals identify a location on the sea floor to undergo metamorphosis based on the presence of specific bacteria. Although this microbe-animal interaction is ...The swimming larvae of many marine animals identify a location on the sea floor to undergo metamorphosis based on the presence of specific bacteria. Although this microbe-animal interaction is critical for the life cycles of diverse marine animals, what types of biochemical cues from bacteria that induce metamorphosis has been a mystery. Metamorphosis of larvae of the tubeworm is induced by arrays of phage tail-like contractile injection systems, which are released by the bacterium . Here we identify the novel effector protein Mif1. By cryo-electron tomography imaging and functional assays, we observe Mif1 as cargo inside the tube lumen of the contractile injection system and show that the gene is required for inducing metamorphosis. Purified Mif1 is sufficient for triggering metamorphosis when electroporated into tubeworm larvae. Our results indicate that the delivery of protein effectors by contractile injection systems may orchestrate microbe-animal interactions in diverse contexts.