The intracellular bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi uses the autotransporter ScaC to activate BICD adaptors for dynein-based motility
Issued Date
2025-12-01
Resource Type
eISSN
20411723
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105010148253
Journal Title
Nature Communications
Volume
16
Issue
1
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Nature Communications Vol.16 No.1 (2025)
Suggested Citation
Manigrasso G., Saharat K., Chaichana P., Kullapanich C., Atwal S., Boulanger J., Morgan T.E., Kramer H., Salje J., Carter A.P. The intracellular bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi uses the autotransporter ScaC to activate BICD adaptors for dynein-based motility. Nature Communications Vol.16 No.1 (2025). doi:10.1038/s41467-025-61105-5 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/111256
Title
The intracellular bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi uses the autotransporter ScaC to activate BICD adaptors for dynein-based motility
Corresponding Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
The intracellular bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi relies on the microtubule cytoskeleton and the motor protein dynein to traffic to the perinuclear region within infected cells. However, it remains unclear how the bacterium is coupled to the dynein machinery and how transport is regulated. Here, we discover that O. tsutsugamushi uses its autotransporter protein ScaC to recruit the dynein adaptors BICD1 and BICD2 for movement to the perinucleus. We show that ScaC is sufficient to engage dynein-based motility in the absence of other bacterial proteins and that BICD1 and BICD2 are required for efficient movement of O. tsutsugamushi during infection. Using TIRF single-molecule assays, we demonstrate that ScaC induces BICD2 to adopt an open conformation which activates the assembly of dynein-dynactin complexes. Our results reveal a role for BICD adaptors during bacterial infection and provide mechanistic insights into the life cycle of an important human pathogen.