Bacteriophage Control of Bacterial Virulence

Wagner, Patrick; Waldor, Matthew K.

doi:10.1128/iai.70.8.3985-3993.2002

Cited by 419 publications

(355 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…Thus, the maintenance of a b-converting prophage in the host chromosome indicates that this phage is beneficial or even essential. Such prophages may complement strain physiology and allow survival in the potentially hostile environmental conditions during colonization and infection (Smeltzer et al, 1994;Wagner and Waldor, 2002). Studying S. aureus and diabetic feet, Lavigne recently associated the disruption of a staphylococcal virulence gene by a ROSA-like prophage with the colonizing status of S. aureus isolates (Messad et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of prophages harbored by the human-adapted subpopulation of Staphylococcus aureus CC398

Mee-Marquet

Corvaglia

Valentin

et al. 2013

Infection, Genetics and Evolution

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a b s t r a c tStaphylococcus aureus clonal complex 398 is a livestock-associated pathogen that poses a worldwide threat because of its ability to colonize and infect both humans and animals. We used high-resolution whole-genome microarrays, prophage profiling, immune evasion cluster characterization and wholegenome sequencing to investigate the roles of prophages in the emerging human-adapted subpopulation of CC398 that has been associated with invasive infections in humans living in animal-free environments.We characterized one phage and two prophages specifically harbored by CC398 isolates belonging to the emerging subpopulation. We introduced the phage into permissive prophage-free isolates. We investigated the effects of lysogeny on the host ability to resist further phage infection and transformation, to acquire the capacity to invade human cells, and to express virulence factors encoded by prophages. We report evidence of a defective /MR11-like helper prophage, named StauST398-5pro, specifically associated with the emerging non-LA CC398 subpopulation. StauST398-5pro confers substantial protection against horizontal genetic transfer to its host. It interacts with a human-associated b-converting prophage encoding immune-modulating proteins such that virulence genes are expressed during stress situations.Our findings provide insight into the role of phages in the expression of virulence and in the spread of genetic information among new host-adapted S. aureus isolates. We demonstrate that functional prophage elements can condition host specificity and confer new virulence traits on emerging intra-species clones of bacteria.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Phages serve as a driving force in bacterial pathogenesis, contributing both to the evolution of bacterial hosts through gene transfer, and to bacterial pathogenesis at the time of infection (Wagner and Waldor, 2002). S. aureus is highly lysogenic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of prophages harbored by the human-adapted subpopulation of Staphylococcus aureus CC398

Mee-Marquet

Corvaglia

Valentin

et al. 2013

Infection, Genetics and Evolution

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“…This prophage can silently coexist with its host until it becomes activated by different environmental influences, e.g. UV irradiation, changes of pH, temperature and water activity (Schmidt, 2001; Wagner and Waldor, 2002; Herold et al ., 2004). In addition, anthropogenic chemicals are known to activate prophages (Motlagh et al ., 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A fast and reliable method for monitoring of prophage‐activating chemicals

Kiesel

Kallies

et al. 2018

Microbial Biotechnology

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SummaryBacteriophages, that is viruses that infect bacteria, either lyse bacteria directly or integrate their genome into the bacterial genome as so‐called prophages, where they remain at a silent state. Both phages and bacteria are able to survive in this state. However, prophages can be reactivated with the introduction of chemicals, followed by the release of a high number of phage particles, which could infect other bacteria, thus harming ecosystems by a viral bloom. The basics for a fast, automatable analytical method for the detection of prophage‐activating chemicals are developed and successfully tested here. The method exploits the differences in metabolic heat produced by Escherichia coli with (λ+) and without the lambda prophages (λ−). Since the metabolic heat primarily reflects opposing effects (i.e. the reduction of heat‐producing cells by lysis and enhanced heat production to deliver the energetic costs for the synthesis of phages), a systematic analysis of the influence of the different conditions (experimentally and in silico) was performed and revealed anoxic conditions to be best suited. The main advantages of the suggested monitoring method are not only the possibility of obtaining fast results (after only few hours), but also the option for automation, the low workload (requires only few minutes) and the suitability of using commercially available instruments. The future challenge following this proof of principle is the development of thermal transducers which allow for the electronic subtraction of the λ+ from the λ‐ signal.

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“…Transduction may affect virulence in bacteria [100][101][102] . For example, in Vibrio cholerae the cholera toxin, a key virulence determinant, is encoded in the genome of the temperate phage ΦCTX 103 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Gene transfer agents: phage-like elements of genetic exchange

2012

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Horizontal gene transfer is important in the evolution of bacterial and archaeal genomes. An interesting genetic exchange process is carried out by diverse phage-like gene transfer agents (GTAs) that are found in a wide range of prokaryotes. Although GTAs resemble phages, they lack the hallmark capabilities that define typical phages, and they package random pieces of the producing cell's genome. In this Review, we discuss the defining characteristics of the GTAs that have been identified to date, along with potential functions for these agents and the possible evolutionary forces that act on the genes involved in their production.The prevalence of horizontal gene transfer (HGT), in which DNA is exchanged between closely or distantly related lineages, has altered the way we think about evolution 1,2 , having profound effects on our views of the evolutionary relationships among living organisms. It has caused a shift from a bifurcating 'tree of life' view to a 'net of life' or 'web of life' view [3][4][5] , in which "highways of gene sharing" (REF. 6) represent major connections, with genes (or DNA segments) viewed as "public goods, available for all organisms to integrate into their genomes" (REF. 7). HGT occurs within and between all three domains of life, and it has been estimated that 0.05-80% of genes in bacterial and archaeal genomes have been affected by HGT, depending on the analytical method used and the genome analysed [8][9][10] . Although HGT is widespread, it is not random: patterns of preferential gene exchange among specific groups of organisms that share ancestry or habitat have been * Present address. aslang@mun.ca; olgazh@dartmouth.edu; j.beatty@mail.ubc.ca Competing interests statementThe authors declare no competing financial interests. 6,9,11,12 . Such patterns are probably a consequence of existing barriers to HGT, which have been reviewed in detail elsewhere 13,14 . FURTHER INFORMATIONAlthough we have known about some HGT mechanisms for decades, novel processes that expand the existing repertoire of gene exchange methods are continually being identified. Transformation was the first mechanism of gene exchange to be discovered 15 , wherein DNA is taken up directly from the environment (reviewed elsewhere 16,17 ). In transduction, DNA transfer is mediated by viral particles (BOX 1). In conjugation, which was discovered in the 1940s 18 , DNA is transferred from a donor to a recipient cell during cell-to-cell contact; conjugation is used in the transfer of plasmids, transposons, integrons, and integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) [19][20][21] . There are other modes of gene exchange that do not fit well into any of these three canonical mechanisms, including temporary cell fusion followed by chromosomal recombination and plasmid exchange 22 , intercellular connection through nanotubes 23 , and the release of membrane vesicles containing chromosomal, plasmid and phage DNA that can then merge with nearby cells 24 . In addition, a novel mechanism of gene transfer that has feature...

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Bacteriophage Control of Bacterial Virulence

Cited by 419 publications

References 109 publications

Analysis of prophages harbored by the human-adapted subpopulation of Staphylococcus aureus CC398

Analysis of prophages harbored by the human-adapted subpopulation of Staphylococcus aureus CC398

A fast and reliable method for monitoring of prophage‐activating chemicals

Gene transfer agents: phage-like elements of genetic exchange

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