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<p>Horizontal gene transfer events were crucial in the emergence of multicellular life. A striking example is the acquisition of Teneurins, putative surface-exposed toxins in bacteria that function as cell adhesion receptors in metazoan neuronal development. Here, we demonstrate the evolutionary relationships between metazoan and bacterial Teneurins. We use cryogenic electron microscopy and bioinformatic analysis to show that bacterial Teneurins harbour a toxic protein in a proteinaceous shell. They are rare but widely distributed across bacterial taxa and are predominantly seen in species with complex social behaviours, suggesting roles in cell-to-cell interaction. This work confirms that metazoan Teneurins are repurposed bacterial toxins that have evolved to be essential mediators of intercellular communication in all advanced nervous systems. Their acquisition was a key event in the evolution of metazoans.</p>

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Ancestral neuronal receptors are bacterial accessory toxins

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月14日

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  • Finaritra Raoelijaona,
  • Joanna Szczepaniak,
  • Adrien Schahl,
  • James E. Bray,
  • Jin Chuan Zhou,
  • Lindsay Baker,
  • Kamel El Omari,
  • Edward Lowe,
  • Yu Shang Low,
  • Chandra M. Rodriguez,
  • Michael J. Landsberg,
  • J. Shaun Lott,
  • Colin Kleanthous,
  • Matthieu Chavent,
  • Martin CJ Maiden,
  • Elena Seiradake

摘要

Horizontal gene transfer events were crucial in the emergence of multicellular life. A striking example is the acquisition of Teneurins, putative surface-exposed toxins in bacteria that function as cell adhesion receptors in metazoan neuronal development. Here, we demonstrate the evolutionary relationships between metazoan and bacterial Teneurins. We use cryogenic electron microscopy and bioinformatic analysis to show that bacterial Teneurins harbour a toxic protein in a proteinaceous shell. They are rare but widely distributed across bacterial taxa and are predominantly seen in species with complex social behaviours, suggesting roles in cell-to-cell interaction. This work confirms that metazoan Teneurins are repurposed bacterial toxins that have evolved to be essential mediators of intercellular communication in all advanced nervous systems. Their acquisition was a key event in the evolution of metazoans.