curli secretion complex

GO:0062155 · Secretion system · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

A protein-containing complex that serves as a channel for the secretion of curli. Curli are a fibers that serve as a major component of the extracellular matrix of pellicle biofilms. [GO:0062155]

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Taxonomic distribution

• NCBITaxon:2 Bacteria — VARIABLE: The curli secretion complex is a bacterial outer-membrane channel for curli subunit secretion and follows the uneven bacterial distribution of the type VIII curli pathway. [DOI:10.1128/ecosalplus.ESP-0037-2018]

Functions

• protein secretion by the type VIII secretion system GO:0098777 — The curli secretion complex forms an outer-membrane channel used to secrete curli subunits.
  • GO:0098777 GO:0098777 defines protein secretion by the type VIII secretion system as outer-membrane secretion through the mechanism used for curli subunits.
  • GO:0062155 GO:0062155 defines the curli secretion complex as a protein-containing channel for curli secretion.

Discussions

• CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve whether GO:0062155 should contain only the CsgG outer-membrane channel or the broader CsgE/CsgF/CsgG secretion machinery before adding constituents. GO:0062155 identifies a curli secretion channel, the definition xref is the CsgG secretion-channel structure paper, and adjacent curli-fiber curation also tracks CsgF-CsgG secretion complexes. The exact CsgE/F/G membership boundary therefore needs a source-level pass before component rows are safe.

Evidence

• GO:0062155 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the curli secretion complex.
• PMID:25219853 PubMed identifier for Goyal et al. 2014, the bacterial amyloid secretion channel CsgG paper cited by the GO:0062155 definition.
• DOI:10.1038/nature13768 NCBI metadata verify DOI 10.1038/nature13768 for Goyal et al. 2014, Structural and mechanistic insights into the bacterial amyloid secretion channel CsgG.
• DOI:10.1038/s41467-019-14145-7 Yan et al. 2020 structurally characterized substrate recognition by CsgF-CsgG curli secretion channel complexes.

Curation history

• 2026-09-29T05:28:33Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
• 2026-09-29T05:29:10Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added protein-containing-complex parentage, bacterial taxonomic scope, the type VIII secretion function, GO/PubMed/DOI evidence, and an open CsgE/F/G component-boundary discussion.

Source: data/structures/secretion_system/curli_secretion_complex.yaml