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Updated: Apr 28, 2026
09:40
Phage Phenomics: Physiological Approaches to Characterize Novel Viral Proteins
Published on: June 11, 2015
13.1K
Single capsid mutations modulating phage adsorption, persistence, and plaque morphology shape evolutionary
Manuela Reuter1, Michael Sieber1, Octavio Reyes-Matte1
1Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, August-Thienemann-Straße 2, 24306 Plön, Germany.
Virus Evolution
|April 27, 2026
Summary
Bacteriophage (Phage) traits like adsorption and persistence evolve based on how often they are transferred. Shorter transfers favor slower adsorption, while longer transfers select for faster adsorption and higher persistence.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Microbiology
- Virology
Background:
- Lytic bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacteria.
- Phage evolutionary success depends on traits like adsorption, lysis time, burst size, and environmental persistence.
- Understanding how these traits adapt to different environments is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how serial transfer conditions shape the evolution of phage life-history traits.
- To explore adaptation in the bacteriophage ΦX174 under varying transfer intervals.
- To understand the evolutionary pressures on phage adsorption and persistence.
Main Methods:
- Experimental evolution of ΦX174 under different serial transfer regimes.
- Mathematical modeling of phage population dynamics.
- Analysis of mutations affecting phage adsorption and persistence.
Main Results:
- Transfer interval length imposes divergent selection on phage adsorption and context-dependent selection on persistence.
- Longer transfers favored fast adsorption and high persistence.
- Shorter transfers selected for slower adsorption, explained by a trade-off in selective forces.
- A single mutation in the major capsid protein drove changes in adsorption and, in some cases, persistence.
Conclusions:
- Propagation conditions, specifically transfer intervals, significantly influence phage phenotypes.
- Evolutionary changes in phage adsorption and persistence can be driven by simple mutations.
- Findings offer insights into phage evolution and potential applications in phage therapy.
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