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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...
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Stringent Response in E. coli01:23

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Bacterial growth is closely tied to nutrient availability, with cells proliferating exponentially under favorable conditions and entering a stationary phase when resources become scarce. This transition is mediated by a regulatory mechanism known as the stringent response, which allows bacteria to adapt to nutrient deprivation by modulating gene expression and metabolic activity.During nutrient scarcity, intracellular amino acid levels decline. It results in the accumulation of uncharged tRNAs...
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Bacteria have global regulatory systems that control several types of stress mechanisms. These include Pho regulon and the heat shock response, which are essential systems for environmental adaptation, such as nutrient limitation and proteotoxic stress. The Pho regulon and the heat shock response exemplify bacterial resilience, enabling rapid adaptation to fluctuating environmental conditions.Pho RegulonBacteria require phosphorus for essential cellular processes, including nucleic acid...
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Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically infect bacteria, utilizing their genetic material to hijack host cellular machinery for replication. DNA bacteriophages employ single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genomes. These phages exhibit diverse replication strategies and host interactions, influencing their ecological roles and applications in biotechnology and medicine.ssDNA BacteriophagesssDNA phages, with their small genomes, utilize unique strategies to...
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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...
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Global regulatory systems in bacteria enable rapid and coordinated responses to environmental changes by integrating sensory inputs with gene expression, ensuring efficient adaptation to fluctuating conditions. Key global regulatory mechanisms include regulons, two-component systems, sigma factors, and secondary messengers.Regulons and Global RegulatorsA regulon is a collection of genes and operons controlled by a common global regulator. These regulators enable bacteria to prioritize resource...
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Following Cell-fate in E. coli After Infection by Phage Lambda
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Phage-Encoded Sigma Factors Alter Bacterial Dormancy.

D A Schwartz1, B K Lehmkuhl1, J T Lennon1

  • 1Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.

Msphere
|July 20, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Phages infecting spore-forming bacteria possess sigma factors that can manipulate host dormancy and sporulation. This discovery reveals a novel mechanism for phages to influence bacterial survival strategies and coevolutionary dynamics.

Keywords:
Bacillusauxiliary metabolic genesdormancyevolutioninfectionparasitephageseed bankssporulationstarvationtranscriptomevirus

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology and Virology
  • Bacterial Genetics and Physiology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Microbial dormancy, including bacterial spore formation, is a survival strategy against adverse conditions and parasitic infections.
  • Endospore development in Bacillota is regulated by sigma factors, crucial for gene expression during this process.
  • Bacteriophages (phages) are obligate parasites that can acquire host genes to exploit host metabolism and influence phage fitness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the presence and function of sigma factor homologs in phages infecting spore-forming bacteria.
  • To understand the implications of these phage-derived sigma factors on host sporulation and coevolutionary dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Bioinformatic analysis of over 4,000 phage genomes to identify sigma factor homologs.
  • Experimental characterization of phage-derived sigma factors in the model organism Bacillus subtilis.
  • Assessment of the impact of these factors on bacterial sporulation gene networks and spore yield.

Main Results:

  • Identified homologs of sporulation-specific sigma factors in phages infecting spore-forming hosts.
  • Demonstrated that these sporulation-like sigma factors are nonessential for lytic phage infection.
  • Showed that some phage-derived sigma factors can activate the bacterial sporulation network, reducing spore yield in Bacillus subtilis.

Conclusions:

  • Phages can acquire and utilize host-like transcriptional regulators, such as sigma factors, to manipulate bacterial physiology.
  • This manipulation of bacterial dormancy and sporulation by phages has significant implications for host-parasite coevolution.
  • The findings highlight a novel strategy for phages to influence the survival and ecological dynamics of abundant bacterial populations.