A Contractile injection system mediates development and cell death in multicellular bacteria
Bacteria exist in highly competitive environments that require them to interact with a range of organisms. To mediate these interactions, bacteria employ different types of contractile injection systems (CIS). CIS particles function as specialised secretion systems to transfer cytoplasmic proteins from the cell into the environment or directly into the cytoplasm of eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells. While CIS are widespread across microbial phyla, representative examples from Gram-positive bacteria have remained poorly characterised.

We recently showed that CIS particles from multicellular Streptomyces bacteria are functionally distinct from related CIS and have an intracellular role. Using a combination of cryo-electron microscopy, live-cell imaging and in vivo assays, we determined the cryoEM structure of the extended CIS particle from Streptomyces coelicolor and propose a model of how these CIS particles mediate cell death in response to diverse stress conditions and impact the timely progression of the Streptomyces life cycle.
Date: 20 January 2025, 13:00 (Monday, 1st week, Hilary 2025)
Venue: Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QU
Venue Details: Seminar Room 2, Room 20-138
Speaker: Dr. Susan Schlimpert (Group Leader, Royal Society University Research Fellow, John Innes Centre)
Organising department: Department of Biochemistry
Organiser contact email address: sarah-jane.scard@bioch.ox.ac.uk
Host: Professor Colin Kleanthous (Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford)
Part of: Biochemistry Department Seminar
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editors: Sarah-Jane Scard, Jessica Barnes