Top: Diagram showing Type VI Secretion System–mediated interbacterial antagonism integrated with a computational pipeline used to identify and classify previously uncharacterized antibacterial effector families. Created in BioRender. Bayer-Santos, E. (2026). Bottom left: E. coli toxicity assay. Serial dilutions of E. coli carrying pBRA and pEXT22 constructs. Bottom right: Time-lapse microscopy of E. coli carrying pBRA SP-Tox-Act1 grown on repressed or induced conditions. Scale bar: 5 µm. Timestamps in hours and minutes.
During microbial warfare, #bacteria deploy toxins to inhibit or kill competitors. @ebayersantos.bsky.social &co reveal lipid-targeting #antibacterial #toxins & novel toxin domains within #Salmonella T6SS effectors, broadening known toxin enzymatic diversity @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/40zTyEP