DisProt 2025_06 - New thematic dataset of Bacterial virulence-related proteins

With the latest thematic dataset released by DisProt, we turn our attention to a fascinating and still emerging topic: the role of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in bacterial pathogenicity.

This curated collection highlights disordered bacterial proteins with functional roles in virulence, host–pathogen interaction, and immune evasion. While IDPs are well recognized in eukaryotic systems, their relevance in bacteria is still under active investigation.

From this dataset, we have 76 bacterial proteins, all annotated in DisProt, revealing compelling insights into the biological significance of structural disorder in bacterial infections.

How much disorder is there?

Total number of proteins: 76
Minimum disorder content: 1.15%
Maximum disorder content: 75.19%

Examples of disordered virulence proteins in bacteria

Cholera enterotoxin subunit A

• DisProt ID: DP00250
• Organism: Vibrio cholerae serotype O1
• Disorder content: 75.19%
• Function: This subunit plays a central role in the activity of the cholera toxin. It undergoes a disorder-to-order transition (IDPO:00050) upon binding, which facilitates its activation and intracellular trafficking, including internalization and retrograde transport to the endoplasmic reticulum — essential steps for the toxin’s cytotoxic effect.

Translocated intimin receptor (Tir)

• DisProt ID: DP04161
• Organism: Escherichia coli
• Disorder content: 50.73%
• Function: Tir is directly translocated into the host cell via a Type III secretion system. Its intrinsically disordered regions provide the flexibility needed to interact with multiple host targets, modulate host signaling pathways, and manipulate immune responses.

Thanks to the effort of our expert DisProt biocurators, Maria Victoria Nugnes, Federica Quaglia, and volunteer curators from the DisProt Consortium, specifically Rita Pancsa, Ximena Aixa Castro Naser and Trinidad de los Ángeles Cordero Gil. The new dataset features more than 300 pieces of evidence obtained from 102 publications.

Notes: Bacterial virulence-related proteins dataset icon was obtained from The Noun Project