Bacteria vs. Bacteriophages: Parallel Evolution of Immune Arsenals

Abstract

Bacteriophages are the most common entities on earth and represent a constant challenge to bacterial populations. To fend off bacteriophage infection, bacteria evolved immune systems to avert phage adsorption and block invader DNA entry. They developed restriction–modification systems and mechanisms to abort infection and interfere with virion assembly, as well as newly recognized clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR). In response to bacterial immune systems, bacteriophages synchronously evolved resistance mechanisms, such as the anti-CRISPR systems to counterattack bacterial CRISPR-cas systems, in a continuing evolutionary arms race between virus and host. In turn, it is fundamental to the survival of the bacterial cell to evolve a system to combat bacteriophage immune strategies.

Genomic analysis of 40 prophages located in the genomes of 16 carbapenemase-producing clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae

“…Bacteriophages, i.e. viruses that infect bacteria, are the most abundant biological entities on Earth [ 1–3 ]. They are found in all environmental niches colonized by bacteria, with an estimated global population of 10 31 viral particles [ 4, 5 ].…”

Genomic, morphological and functional characterisation of novel bacteriophage FNU1 capable of disrupting Fusobacterium nucleatum biofilms

“…Alternatives to antibiotics that have a narrow range in their bacterial targets, and capable of breaking down bacterial biofilms are bacteriophages 18,19 . Bacteriophages, which can be either lytic or temperate 20 , have been involved in an evolutionary arms race with bacteria, and as such are capable of overcoming or adapting to development of bacterial resistance against them 21 . Temperate bacteriophages are present in bacteria in a latent phase until certain conditions leading to bacterial cellular damage occurs e.g.…”

Phage Therapy: What Have We Learned?

“…Differential phage susceptibility determinants that are encoded by various strains of the same species include genes encoding phage receptors or pathways of their synthesis and phage-compatible restriction-modification systems [ 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 ]. Additionally, bacteria encode phage defence mechanisms, but these mechanisms protect the bacterium by itself either from infection with certain phages or from phage propagation, or induce apoptosis to protect the population from spread of the infection [ 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 ]. The differential phage susceptibility determinants are exchangeable between strains of a given species.…”