Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42048062›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of cell biology2026

Divergent Rickettsia species exhibit distinct mechanisms of actin-based motility.

Meghan C Bacher, Julie E Choe, Jiawen Jiang, Joanna M Idrovo, Joshua T Del Mundo, Michal Hammel, Matthew D Welch

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of cell biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Meghan C BacherDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3264-5028
Julie E ChoeDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0007-1653-6773
Jiawen JiangDepartment of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5449-2632
Joanna M IdrovoDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0009-7735-1101
Joshua T Del MundoMolecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Structural Biology Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9806-1201
Michal HammelMolecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Structural Biology Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5610-9289
Matthew D WelchDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2537-6349

Funding

THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF CELL FUNCTIONT32GM007232 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI BILDER, DAVID, UNAL, ELCIN · 1985 to 2022
$36.4M
User Training and OutreachP30GM124169 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIF-LAWRENC BERKELEY LAB · PI Gregory L Hura · 2017 to 2026
$28.6M
Rickettsia mobilization of the cytoskeleton during invasion, motility, and spreadR01AI109044 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI WELCH, MATTHEW D · 2014 to 2025
$5.6M
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI109044NIGMS NIH HHS P30 GM124169NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM007232
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Many Rickettsia species undergo actin-based motility to promote cell-cell spread during infection. Rickettsial genomes often encode two motility effectors, RickA and Sca2, which in the spotted fever group I species, Rickettsia parkeri act by activating the host Arp2/3 complex and by mimicking eukaryotic formins, respectively. The function of RickA and Sca2 orthologs in the distantly related species Rickettsia bellii was unclear. We report that R. bellii RickA activates the host Arp2/3 complex but has no discernible role in bacterial motility. The R. bellii Sca2 ortholog, Sca2/6, nucleates and elongates actin with a flexible structure and an unusual actin monomer-binding motif in a mechanism distinct from formins or other microbial actin nucleators. R. bellii motility is solely correlated with Sca2/6 localization and, compared with R. parkeri motility, is slow and meandering, generating distinctly organized actin tails. The evolutionary flexibility in the mechanism and regulation of rickettsial actin-based motility suggests similar adaptability for other microbes.

Indexed as

ActinsBacterial ProteinsRickettsiaActin-Related Protein 2-3 ComplexAnimalsActin-Related Protein 2-3 ComplexActinsBacterial ProteinsRickA protein, Rickettsia

Identifiers

PMID42048062
PMCPMC13137875

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.