Vibrio cholerae is the causative agent
of the
severe diarrheal disease cholera. Bacteriophages that prey on V. cholerae may be employed as phage therapy against cholera.
However, the influence of the chemical environment on the infectivity
of vibriophages has been unexplored. Here, we discovered that a common
metabolite produced by gut microbeslinear enterobactin (LinEnt),
represses vibriophage proliferation. We found that the antiphage effect
by LinEnt is due to iron sequestration and that multiple forms of
iron sequestration can protect V. cholerae from phage
predation. This discovery emphasizes the significance that the chemical
environment can have on natural phage infectivity and phage-based
interventions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.