Bacterial defense systems exhibit synergistic anti-phage activity.
Cell Host Microbe
; 32(4): 557-572.e6, 2024 Apr 10.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38402614
ABSTRACT
Bacterial defense against phage predation involves diverse defense systems acting individually and concurrently, yet their interactions remain poorly understood. We investigated >100 defense systems in 42,925 bacterial genomes and identified numerous instances of their non-random co-occurrence and negative association. For several pairs of defense systems significantly co-occurring in Escherichia coli strains, we demonstrate synergistic anti-phage activity. Notably, Zorya II synergizes with Druantia III and ietAS defense systems, while tmn exhibits synergy with co-occurring systems Gabija, Septu I, and PrrC. For Gabija, tmn co-opts the sensory switch ATPase domain, enhancing anti-phage activity. Some defense system pairs that are negatively associated in E. coli show synergy and significantly co-occur in other taxa, demonstrating that bacterial immune repertoires are largely shaped by selection for resistance against host-specific phages rather than negative epistasis. Collectively, these findings demonstrate compatibility and synergy between defense systems, allowing bacteria to adopt flexible strategies for phage defense.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Health context:
3_ND
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bacteriophages
Language:
En
Journal:
Cell Host Microbe
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article