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What makes a temperate phage an effective bacterial weapon?

M J N Thomas1, M A Brockhurst1, K Z Coyte1

  • 1Division of Evolution and Genomic Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Msystems
|May 10, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Temperate bacteriophages act as bacterial weapons, but their effectiveness depends on life history traits and host frequency. Nutrient availability also influences their impact on microbial communities.

Keywords:
bacterial weaponsbacteriophagesmathematical modelingmicrobial ecologymicrobial evolutiontemperate phage

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Systems Biology

Background:

  • Temperate bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacteria and integrate into their genomes.
  • These phages can function as self-amplifying biological weapons, enhancing host fitness by eliminating competitors.
  • The specific traits that define an effective phage weapon remain largely uncharacterized.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the key characteristics that determine the effectiveness of temperate phage weapons.
  • To explore how phage life history traits and host frequency influence phage weapon utility.
  • To investigate the role of nutrient availability in phage-mediated bacterial competition.

Main Methods:

  • Mathematical modeling to analyze phage life history traits and their impact on lysogen fitness.
  • Experimental validation using temperate phages from *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* (Liverpool strain).
  • Investigation of nutrient availability's role in frequency-dependent phage competition.

Main Results:

  • Phage effectiveness is contingent on life history traits like lysis probability and induction rate.
  • Optimal phage weapon traits vary with the initial frequency of lysogens in a population.
  • Phage weapons can be detrimental at low host frequencies but beneficial at high frequencies.
  • Nutrient availability significantly influences frequency-dependent patterns in phage competition.

Conclusions:

  • Temperate phage weapons exhibit complex, context-dependent efficacy.
  • Ecological and evolutionary factors, including nutrient availability and host frequency, are crucial in shaping microbial community dynamics.
  • Subtle changes in phage traits can drastically alter their impact on host fitness and community structure.