Expanding the molecular weaponry of bacterial species

The type VI secretion system (T6SS) delivers toxic effectors between Gram-negative bacteria. Most antibacterial T6SS effectors are peptidoglycanases, nucleases, or lipases. In the current work, Tang et al. structurally and functionally characterize a novel family of NAD(P)-hydrolyzing effectors (NADases), thus expanding the documented types of T6SS substrates. Bioinformatic identification of NADase family members putatively secreted by the bacteriolytic type VII secretion system (T7SS) of Gram-positive bacteria further points to NADases as a diverse and important class of effectors.