Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2025

Understanding the Impact of Temperate Bacteriophages on Their Lysogens Through Transcriptomics
Published on: January 5, 2024
The never-ending battle between lactic acid bacteria and their phages
Cécile Philippe1,2, Jeffrey K Cornuault1,2, Alessandra G de Melo1,2
1Département de biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Université Laval, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada.
Abstract:
Over the past few decades, the interest in lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been steadily growing. This is mainly due to their industrial use, their health benefits as probiotic bacteria and their ecological importance in host-related microbiota. Phage infection represents a significant risk for the production and industrial use of LAB. This created the need to study the various means of defense put in place by LAB to resist their viral enemies, as well as the countermeasures evolved by phages to overcome these defenses. In this review, we discuss defense systems that LAB employ to resist phage infections. We also describe how phages counter these mechanisms through diverse and sophisticated strategies. Furthermore, we discuss the way phage-host interactions shape each other's evolution. The recent discovery of numerous novel defense systems in other bacteria promises a new dawn for phage research in LAB.
Related Concept Videos
Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages
Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle
Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages
DNA Bacteriophages
Viral Replication: Lytic Cycle
Defense Against Bacterial Pathogens
Phagocytes
Phagocytes are the frontline soldiers of the immune system. They include neutrophils and macrophages. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell and are quickly mobilized to the site of infection. Macrophages are larger cells that patrol...

