Evolutionary Perspectives on the Moonlighting Functions of Bacterial Factors That Support Actin-Based Motility

Various bacterial pathogens display an intracellular lifestyle and spread from cell to cell through actin-based motility (ABM). ABM requires actin polymerization at the bacterial pole and is mediated by the expression of bacterial factors that hijack the host cell actin nucleation machinery or exhibit intrinsic actin nucleation properties. It is increasingly recognized that bacterial ABM factors, in addition to having a crucial task during the intracellular phase of infection, display “moonlighting” adhesin functions, such as bacterial aggregation, biofilm formation, and host cell adhesion/invasion. Here, we review our current knowledge of ABM factors and their additional functions, and we propose that intracellular ABM functions have evolved from ancestral, extracellular adhesin functions.