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How are the Non-classically Secreted Bacterial Proteins Released into the Extracellular Milieu?

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Abstract

Most bacterial proteins that are destined to leave the cytoplasm are exported across the cell membrane to their sites of function. These proteins are generally exported via the classical secretion pathway, in which the signal peptide plays a central role. However, some bacterial proteins have been found in the extracellular milieu without any apparent signal peptide. As none of the classical secretion systems is involved in their secretion, this occurrence is termed non-classical protein secretion. The mechanism or mechanisms responsible for non-classical secretion are contentious. This review compiles evidence from the debate over whether the release of the non-classically secreted proteins is the result of cell lysis and discusses how these proteins are exported to the exterior of the cell.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (31125021), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2011AA100905), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31171636, No. 31000752), the Key program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 20836003), the National Basic Research Program of China 973 Program (2012CB720802), the 111 project B07029, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. JUSRP51320B).

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, People’s Republic of China

    Guangqiang Wang, Jing Cui & Wei Chen

  2. School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, People’s Republic of China

    Haiqin Chen, Yu Xia, Jing Cui, Zhennan Gu, Yuanda Song, Yong Q. Chen & Hao Zhang

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  1. Guangqiang Wang
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Wang, G., Chen, H., Xia, Y. et al. How are the Non-classically Secreted Bacterial Proteins Released into the Extracellular Milieu?. Curr Microbiol 67, 688–695 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-013-0422-6

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