Stress-induced prophage DNA replication in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

Salmonella Typhimurium, a foodborne pathogen, is the cause of new outbreaks every year. The virulence of new pathogens is determined by their virulence genes, many of them carried on transferable elements, such as prophages. In bacteria harboring multiple prophages such as Salmonella, the reassortment of these genes plays a major role in the emergence of new pathogens and consequently new epidemics. This gene transfer depends on prophage induction and the initiation of the phage lytic cycle. In the present study we have tested the effects of bacterial extracytoplasmic stress on prophage induction. We developed a quantitative real-time PCR assay to quantify variations in phage genes copy number, representative of phage DNA replication associated with the initiation of the lytic cycle. The induction of the four Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 prophages (Fels-1, Fels-2, Gifsy-1 and Gifsy-2) was measured during exponential growth, stationary phase, starvation, as well as after treatment with Mitomycin C, Ampicillin or heat. Our results show that the four prophages respond differently to each treatment. Gifsy-2 showed constant low level of induction independently of the extracytoplasmic stress, Fels-1 was strongly induced after DNA damage, Fels-2 showed spontaneous induction only during optimal bacterial growth, and Gifsy-1 was repressed in all conditions. These findings show that the transfer of virulence genes can respond to and depend on variations of the bacterial surrounding conditions, and help to explain the appearance of new Salmonella outbreaks.