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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Sam BenedictORCiD, Dr Kieran BowranORCiD, Eunice Lee, Jean-Lou ReyreORCiD, Dr Nicole Mietrach, Dr Elizabeth ChanORCiD, Dr Emmanuele SeveriORCiD, Ellie Boardman, Manuel BanzhafORCiD, Dr Elisabeth LoweORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2026.Most bacteria have evolved mechanisms to compete with other bacteria, often through the specialised secretion of proteinaceous toxins. However, mycobacteria have not previously been reported to engage in this form of competition. The thick and unusual mycobacterial cell wall, comprised of peptidoglycan, arabinogalactan and mycolic acids, is generally thought to be highly protective to these bacteria. Here, we show that some mycobacteria can use endo-D-arabinanases of the GH183 family for inter-bacterial competition. These microorganisms secrete an endo-D-arabinanase effector via the type VII secretion system (T7SS) that cleaves the arabinogalactan layer of the mycobacterial cell envelope. We describe the molecular basis for this activity using structural biology and biochemistry, and identify a protein family that protects the bacterium from the activity of this toxin. The widespread presence of genes potentially encoding similar T7SS-secreted toxins in the Mycobacteriales suggests extensive inter-mycobacterial competition.
Author(s): Benedict ST, Bowran K, Lee EKE, Reyre J-L, Ahmad H, Franklin A, Mietrach NA, Han C-R, Chan JM, Layton AJ, Severi E, Boardman ER, Anochshenko K, Goudge G, Caulton SG, Lowary TL, Lovering AL, Banzhaf M, Lowe EC, Palmer T, Moynihan PJ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Nature Communications
Year: 2026
Volume: 17
Issue: 1
Print publication date: 06/08/2026
Online publication date: 23/06/2026
Acceptance date: 03/06/2026
Date deposited: 18/08/2026
ISSN (electronic): 2041-1723
Publisher: Nature Research
URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74429-7
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-74429-7
Data Access Statement: Thecrystallographic data generated in this study have been deposited in the PDB under accession codes 9MXM, 9MYT, and 9MZ5. DNA sequencing results are deposited in the European Nucleotide Archive under project PRJEB85598. All AlphaFold 3 models are available in Supplementary Data 1. The remaining data generated in this study are provided in the Supplementary Information and Source Data file. Source data are provided with this paper. The R script used for fluorescence data analysis is available as Sup plementary Software 1 and at GitHub (https://github.com/ Hudaahmadd/Fluorescence-Analysis)
PubMed id: 42336839
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