Microbiology journal club: Phage and cheating in Pseudomonas скачать в хорошем качестве

Microbiology journal club: Phage and cheating in Pseudomonas

Some bacteria can detect the numbers of their neighbors using a mechanism called quorum sensing. When bacteria reach certain cell densities, quorum sensing signals can turn on or change expression of particular genes. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, this includes expression of virulence factors, which impact the bacterium’s ability to cause disease. Not all Pseudomonas cooperate, though. Some bacterial cells are “cheaters”. Their quorum sensing systems are deficient, so they don’t turn on expression of the virulence genes. Instead, they use the secreted virulence factors produced by their neighbors. So why don’t cheaters take over? In this paper, a group of researchers from Mexico, Germany, Japan and the U.S. studied the role of lysogenic bacteriophage in controlling cheaters. For the phage they tested, they found that phage infection can reduce the proportion of cheaters in a population. The phage attach preferentially to Pseudomonas mutants that are deficient in their quorum sensing systems. What does this mean for understanding the sociality of Pseudomonas? Does this have implications for phage therapy as a treatment for bacterial infections? Link to paper: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/...