Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 25, 2025
07:31
Live Cell Imaging of Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus pneumoniae using Automated Time-lapse Microscopy
Published on: July 28, 2011
43.0K
Pervasive prophage recombination occurs during evolution of spore-forming Bacilli
Anna Dragoš1, B Priyadarshini2, Zahraa Hasan2
1Bacterial Interactions and Evolution Group, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark. adragos@dtu.dk.
The ISME Journal
|December 21, 2020
Summary
Bacterial sporulation selects for phage recombination, creating new virulent phage hybrids. This reveals a link between bacterial survival strategies and phage evolution, driving bacterial genetic diversity.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacteriology
- Virology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Bacteriophages (phages) are key drivers of bacterial diversity and horizontal gene transfer.
- Mechanisms governing phage genetic diversity, particularly mobile genetic elements (MGEs), are not well understood.
- Previous work indicated sporulation selection promotes evolutionary changes in Bacillus subtilis SPβ prophage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanisms driving phage genetic diversity under sporulation selection.
- To reveal the evolutionary relationship between bacterial survival strategies and phage evolution.
- To understand the eco-evolutionary dynamics between bacteria and their phages.
Main Methods:
- Experimental evolution under sporulation selection regime.
- Analysis of phage-bacteria interactions and recombination events.
- Genomic comparison of Bacillus species and associated phages.
Main Results:
- SPβ prophage recombines with phi3Ts phage DNA under sporulation selection.
- Recombination generates novel prophages at new integration sites and virulent phage hybrids.
- SPβ and phi3T phages are part of a distinct cluster of large phages integrated into sporulation genes.
Conclusions:
- Bacterial sporulation selection drives phage recombination and diversification.
- This process generates virulent phage hybrids, linking bacterial survival to phage evolution.
- Diversification of SPβ-like phages occurs naturally, impacting bacterial populations.
Related Concept Videos
00:57Viral Recombination
24.4K
Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.
24.4K
01:16Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle
852
The lysogenic cycle is a crucial viral replication strategy that allows bacteriophages to persist within host cells without immediately destroying them. This process is primarily observed in temperate phages, such as bacteriophage lambda (λ), which infects Escherichia coli. The cycle allows the viral genome to persist across bacterial generations while keeping host cells viable.Integration of the Viral GenomeUpon infection, bacteriophage lambda attaches to the bacterial surface and injects...
852
02:53Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation
6.4K
Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
6.4K
00:43Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages
65.9K
In contrast to the lytic cycle, phages infecting bacteria via the lysogenic cycle do not immediately kill their host cell. Instead, they combine their genome with the host genome, allowing the bacteria to replicate the phage DNA along with the bacterial genome. The incorporated copy of the phage genome is called the prophage. Some prophages can re-activate and enter the lytic cycle. This often occurs in response to a perturbation, such as DNA damage, but can also transpire in the absence of...
65.9K
01:17Gene Regulation During Sporulation
259
Sporulation is a complex developmental process that allows certain Gram-positive bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis and Clostridium species, to survive extreme environmental conditions. This process is tightly regulated by a series of signaling cascades and transcriptional controls, ensuring the formation of a highly resistant endospore.Sporulation is triggered by unfavorable conditions, such as nutrient depletion, and is governed by a phosphorelay system. One of the sensor kinases, such as...
259
01:16Transduction
708
Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome...
708