Waste or die: The price to pay to stay alive

Microorganisms need to constantly exchange with their habitat to capture nutri-ents and expel toxic compounds. The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, a family of membrane proteins especially abundant in microorganisms, are at the core of these processes. Due to their extraordinary ability to expel structurally unrelated compounds, some transporters play a protective role in different or-ganisms. Yet, the downside of these multidrug transporters is their entanglement in the resistance to therapeutic treatments. Intriguingly, some multidrug ABC transporters show a high level of ATPase activity, even in the absence of transported substrates. Although this basal ATPase activity might seem a waste, we surmise that this inherent capacity allows multidrug transporters to promptly translocate any bound drug before it penetrates into the cell.

Automated summary

Microorganisms rely on ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, which are membrane proteins, to exchange with their environment for nutrients and remove toxic compounds. While these transporters play a protective role in organisms by expelling unrelated compounds, they can also contribute to resistance to therapeutic treatments. Interestingly, some multidrug ABC transporters exhibit high levels of ATPase activity even without substrates. This inherent activity allows them to efficiently transport drugs before they penetrate into the cell.