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Phages Tune in to Host Cell Quorum Sensing.
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 661 University Ave, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Cell
|January 12, 2019
Summary
Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) must synchronize with their hosts. This study reveals how a Vibrio phage utilizes the host
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Virology
- Bacterial Physiology
Background:
- Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacteria and are crucial in microbial ecosystems.
- Phage survival and replication depend on precise coordination with bacterial host cell physiology.
- Bacterial cell density influences various physiological processes, including communication and virulence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanisms by which phages adapt to bacterial host physiology for optimal replication.
- To determine if bacterial communication systems, such as quorum sensing, are exploited by phages.
- To elucidate the role of host cell density in phage-bacterial interactions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a Vibrio cholerae host and a corresponding lytic phage.
- Investigated the phage's life cycle and progeny production in relation to bacterial cell density.
- Analyzed the involvement of the host's quorum-sensing pathway in phage replication.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that the Vibrio phage exploits the host's quorum-sensing pathway.
- Showed that phage progeny production is triggered specifically at high bacterial cell densities.
- Highlighted a sophisticated adaptation of the phage to the host's communication system.
Conclusions:
- Bacterial quorum-sensing pathways can be co-opted by phages to optimize viral progeny production.
- Phages have evolved mechanisms to sense and respond to host cell density.
- This interaction provides a model for understanding phage-host co-evolution and viral strategies in dense bacterial populations.
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