phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at o:5628 DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-71463-3 Bacterial extracellular vesicles as recyclable nutrient reservoirs Bacterial extracellular vesicles (EVs) are known to mediate intercellular communication, virulence, and immune modulation. Here we show that bacteria can utilise EVs also as recyclable nutrient reservoirs. Using Bacillus cereus as a model organism, we demonstrate that EVs exhibit distinct dynamics depending on growth conditions: EVs produced in complex nutrient-rich media undergo time-dependent degradation, while those produced in defined nutrient-limited conditions remain stable and accumulate. We observe similar EV degradation patterns in Staphylococcus aureus. Time-resolved multi-omics profiling reveals that EVs containing the lipid sphingomyelin undergo progressive degradation. Using pharmacological inhibition, knockout mutants, and enzymatic complementation, we show that this process is driven by secreted sphingomyelinase (SMase). This enzyme contributes to degradation of sphingomyelin-containing EVs, thereby releasing their biomolecular cargo which can be used as a nutrient source. Growth assays confirm that SMase-mediated EV degradation provides a growth advantage when nutrients become depleted, thus establishing EVs as dynamic nutrient reservoirs. eng 2026-10-22T08:30:34.079Z LOMv1.0 Author BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Laimer-Digruber;Astrid; FN:Astrid Laimer-Digruber X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8809-2530 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Edelbacher;Tanja V.; FN:Tanja V. Edelbacher X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6640-0346 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Alinaghihossein;Masoumeh; FN:Masoumeh Alinaghihossein END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Yu;Mia S. C.; FN:Mia S. C. Yu X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4141-6443 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Chiang;Dapi Menglin; FN:Dapi Menglin Chiang X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6640-8670 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Kirchner;Benedikt; FN:Benedikt Kirchner END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Wudy;Susanne I.; FN:Susanne I. Wudy X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6333-5233 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Tschulenk;Waltraud; FN:Waltraud Tschulenk END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Walter;Ingrid; FN:Ingrid Walter X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5038-188X END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Kummer;Stefan; FN:Stefan Kummer X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0746-1403 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Ludwig;Christina; FN:Christina Ludwig X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6131-7322 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Přibyl;Jan; FN:Jan Přibyl X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1232-3694 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Pfaffl;Michael W.; FN:Michael W. Pfaffl END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Ehling-Schulz;Monika; FN:Monika Ehling-Schulz X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7384-0594 END:VCARD https://w3id.org/kim/hcrt/scheme https://w3id.org/kim/hcrt/text Textdokument Text LOMv1.0 yes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 application/pdf 3118684 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:5628 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/api/object/o:5628/thumbnail LOMv1.0 discipline