A weaponized phage suppresses competitors in historical and modern metapopulations of pathogenic bacteria
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- Evaluated articles (Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases)
Abstract
Bacteriophages, the viruses of bacteria, are proposed to drive bacterial population dynamics, yet direct evidence of their impact on natural populations is limited. Here we identified viral sequences in a metapopulation of wild plant-associated Pseudomonas spp. genomes. We discovered that the most abundant viral cluster does not encode an intact phage but instead encodes a tailocin - a phage-derived element that bacteria use to kill competitors for interbacterial warfare. Each pathogenic Pseudomonas sp. strain carries one of a few distinct tailocin variants, which target variable polysaccharides in the outer membrane of co-occurring pathogenic strains. Analysis of historic herbarium samples from the last 170 years revealed that the same tailocin and receptor variants have persisted in the Pseudomonas populations for at least two centuries, suggesting the continued use of a defined set of tailocin haplotypes and receptors. These results indicate that tailocin genetic diversity can be mined to develop targeted “tailocin cocktails” for microbial control.
One-Sentence Summary
Bacterial pathogens in a host-associated metapopulation use a repurposed prophage to kill their competitors.
Article activity feed
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Ling-Chun Lin
Review 2: "A Weaponized Phage Suppresses Competitors in Historical and Modern Metapopulations of Pathogenic Bacterial"
Overall, the reviews are very positive, offering constructive suggestions to further enhance the manuscript's impact and clarity.
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Jorge Moura de Sousa, Youn Le Cras
Review 1: "A Weaponized Phage Suppresses Competitors in Historical and Modern Metapopulations of Pathogenic Bacterial"
Overall, the reviews are very positive, offering constructive suggestions to further enhance the manuscript's impact and clarity.
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Strength of evidence
Reviewers: J Moura de Sousa & Y Le Cras (Insititue Pasteur) | 📗📗📗📗◻️
L Lin (Tzu Chi University) | 📘📘📘📘📘 -
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