Abstract
Secretins are outer membrane (OM) channels found in various bacterial nanomachines that secrete or assemble large extracellular structures. High-resolution 3D structures of type 2 secretion system (T2SS) secretins revealed bimodular channels with a C-module, holding a conserved central gate and an optional top gate, followed by an N-module for which multiple structural organizations have been proposed. Here, we perform a structure-driven in vivo study of the XcpD secretin, which validates one of the organizations of the N-module whose flexibility enables alternative conformations. We also show the existence of the central gate in vivo and its required flexibility, which is key for substrate passage and watertightness control. Last, functional, genomic, and phylogenetic analyses indicate that the optional top gate provides a gain of watertightness. Our data illustrate how the gating properties of T2SS secretins allow these large channels to overcome the duality between the necessity of preserving the OM impermeability while simultaneously promoting the secretion of large, folded effectors.