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Updated: Jan 8, 2026
09:23
Understanding the Impact of Temperate Bacteriophages on Their Lysogens Through Transcriptomics
Published on: January 5, 2024
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Global Transcriptomic Profiling Reveals Conserved and Phage-specific Responses to Phage Infection in Escherichia Coli
Edgar González-Villalobos1,2, Alicia Aranda3, Ana C M de Almeida3,4
1Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA-CERCA), 17003, Girona, Spain. edgar.villalobos@comunidad.unam.mx.
Microbial Ecology
|December 11, 2025
Summary
Bacterial responses to phage infection involve conserved stress gene activation and metabolic shifts. However, each phage, like ΦX174 and T4, elicits unique transcriptomic signatures, revealing complex host-phage interactions.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Bacteriophages (phages) are crucial drivers of bacterial evolution and physiology.
- Understanding specific host transcriptomic responses to phage infection is vital but incomplete.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate conserved and phage-specific transcriptomic responses of Escherichia coli to lytic phages (ΦX174, T4) and temperate phage (λ).
- To elucidate the complexity of host-phage interactions at the transcriptional level.
Main Methods:
- Global transcriptomic profiling of Escherichia coli.
- Exposure of bacteria to three distinct phages: ΦX174, T4, and λ.
Main Results:
- All phage infections induced conserved stress-related genes (SOS, general stress) and repressed anabolic processes (purine/amino acid biosynthesis).
- ΦX174 specifically activated the phage shock protein operon.
- ΦX174 and λ selectively induced the oxidative stress regulator soxS.
- Distinct transcriptional signatures were observed for each phage, despite infecting the same host.
Conclusions:
- Phage infection triggers both conserved bacterial stress responses and unique, phage-dependent transcriptional alterations.
- Transcriptomics provides valuable insights into bacterial resistance, survival strategies, and co-evolutionary dynamics with phages.
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