Porphyromonas gingivalis TonB2 is required for protease maturation and cell surface remodeling.

Loss of Porphyromonas gingivalis TonB2 causes extensive proteomic remodeling and impairs cell-surface heme accumulation, gingipain activity, and capsule production.

• Why it matters: TonB energy transducers in P. gingivalis are poorly defined beyond nutrient uptake, leaving a gap in how TonB systems shape envelope biogenesis and virulence-linked functions in Bacteroidota.
• What they did: The authors identified TonB1, TonB2, and TonB3, then created a TonB2-deficient strain and used proteomic profiling plus phenotypic assays for heme accumulation, gingipain activity, capsule production, and host-cell interaction.
• The result: The mutant showed increased regulators, translation, oxidative/nitrosative stress protection, and glycosylation, with decreased polysaccharide export, efflux, and lipoprotein biogenesis, and it had reduced intracellular survival despite enhanced host adhesion and invasion.

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