Prion-Like Domains in Phagobiota.

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Molecular Biology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Prions are self-propagating molecules known for causing mammalian diseases.
• Recently, prion proteins have been implicated in environmental adaptation across diverse organisms.
• Bacteriophages are crucial regulators of microbiota homeostasis and exhibit significant diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the presence of prion-like proteins in bacteriophages.
• To determine the role of these prion-like protein domains in regulating homeostasis.
• To explore the distribution and function of prion-like proteins in bacteriophage-host interactions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a computational algorithm to detect prion-like domains in bacteriophage protein sequences.
• Analyzed 370,617 publicly available bacteriophage protein sequences.
• Examined the distribution and characteristics of identified putative prions across different phage families.

Main Results:

• Identified 5040 putative prion-like proteins in bacteriophages.
• Observed a regular distribution of these proteins across various phage families.
• Found prion-like domains present in phages infecting bacteria and archaea.
• Demonstrated that these proteins are primarily involved in bacteriophage-bacterial cell interactions, including attachment, penetration, and progeny release.

Conclusions:

• Bacteriophage prion-like proteins are widespread across diverse phage groups.
• These proteins play a significant role in regulating bacteriophage-host interactions.
• Phage prion-like proteins represent novel regulators of microbial community dynamics and homeostasis.