Ribitol-Containing Wall Teichoic Acid of Tetragenococcus halophilus Is Targeted by Bacteriophage phiWJ7 as a Binding Receptor

Abstract

Information about the mechanisms of host-phage interactions is required for the development of efficient strategies against bacteriophage infections. Here, we identified the ribitol-containing wall teichoic acid as a host receptor indispensable for bacteriophage infection.

Identification of Capsular Polysaccharide Synthesis Loci Determining Bacteriophage Susceptibility in Tetragenococcus halophilus

“…Unfortunately, a feasible transformation technique for T. halophilus has not been established thus far ( 6 ), which did not allow us to use a general gene deletion-and-complementation strategy for the analysis of gene function. However, intrinsic ISs of T. halophilus jump within the genomes quite actively, and the transposition of ISs can be detected by comparing the lengths of the PCR-amplified DNA fragments covering the targeted genes between the derivative and parental strains ( 6 , 22 ).…”

“…Unfortunately, a feasible transformation technique for T. halophilus has not been established thus far ( 6 ), which did not allow us to use a general gene deletion-and-complementation strategy for the analysis of gene function. However, intrinsic ISs of T. halophilus jump within the genomes quite actively, and the transposition of ISs can be detected by comparing the lengths of the PCR-amplified DNA fragments covering the targeted genes between the derivative and parental strains ( 6 , 22 ). Supposing that a deletion or structural alteration of CPSs is responsible for the altered phage susceptibility in the derivatives, other additional phage-resistant derivatives with ISs transposed into the cps loci are expected to be found easily.…”

“…Considering that most depolymerases are encoded by the ORF of the tail spike or tail fiber ( 34 ), the tail fiber of phiYA5_2 is likely to possess depolymerase activity, degrading the CPSs of YA5. We previously indicated that the tail spike of phiWJ7 is homologous to the peptidoglycan-degrading enzyme of staphylococcal phages ( 6 ), and phiYA5_2 also possessed a similar tail spike, suggesting that the tail spike of phiYA5_2 is responsible for peptidoglycan digestion.…”

“… Tetragenococcus halophilus , a Gram-positive halophilic lactic acid bacterium, plays an important role in the fermentation processes for a variety of salted and fermented foods such as salted fish, vegetable pickles, and soy sauce ( 1 – 3 ). Bacteriophages infecting T. halophilus can impede lactic acid fermentation and decrease the quality of food products ( 4 – 6 ). Tetragenococcal phages typically display narrow host ranges, but the genetic background of this phenotypic characteristic has been poorly studied thus far.…”

“…Tetragenococcal phage receptors have not been well characterized. We recently identified ribitol-containing WTA as a receptor for T. halophilus phage phiWJ7, but another cell wall component was presumed to be involved in phage adsorption since phiWJ7 and other phages could still adsorb to the strains lacking ribitol-containing WTA ( 6 ).…”