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Prophages encode phage-defense systems with cognate self-immunity.

Siân V Owen1, Nicolas Wenner2, Charles L Dulberger3

  • 1Department of Biomedical Informatics and Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Cell Host & Microbe
|October 1, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Prophages use BstA proteins to defend bacteria against competing phages by inducing abortive infection. A self-immunity mechanism ensures the prophage itself is protected from BstA.

Keywords:
BstAabaabortive infectionbacterialysogenyphage defensephage resistanceprophageself-immunitysuperinfection

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Area of Science:

  • Bacteriology
  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Temperate phages integrate into bacterial genomes as prophages, providing genetic benefits but facing threats from other phages.
  • Prophages are susceptible to predation by exogenous phages, posing a risk to their bacterial hosts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize novel phage-defense proteins encoded by prophages.
  • To elucidate the mechanism by which prophages protect their bacterial hosts from competing phage infections.
  • To understand the self-immunity mechanism that protects prophages from their own defense proteins.

Main Methods:

  • Identification of BstA protein family in diverse Gram-negative bacteria.
  • Localization studies of BstA at sites of phage DNA replication.
  • Functional assays demonstrating abortive infection mediated by BstA.
  • Analysis of the anti-BstA (aba) element for self-immunity.

Main Results:

  • BstA proteins were identified in diverse Gram-negative bacteria, encoded by prophages.
  • BstA localizes to phage DNA replication sites and induces abortive infection, suppressing competing phages.
  • Prophages are protected from BstA inhibition by the cognate anti-BstA (aba) element.
  • BstA functions are largely interchangeable between different bacterial species, but aba elements show specificity.

Conclusions:

  • BstA proteins represent a prophage-mediated defense system against exogenous phage predation.
  • The aba element provides crucial self-immunity, ensuring prophage survival during lytic replication.
  • This defense mechanism allows prophages to protect host bacteria without compromising their own replication cycle.