Functional diversification despite structural congruence in the HipBST toxin-antitoxin system of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i>.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are parasitic genetic elements found in almost all bacterial genomes. They are exchanged horizontally between cells and are typically poorly conserved across closely related strains and species. Here, we report the characterization of a tripartite TA system in the bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila that is highly conserved across Legionella species genomes. This system (denoted HipBST_Lp) is a distant homolog of the recently discovered split-HipA system in Escherichia coli (HipBST_Ec). We present bioinformatic, molecular, and structural analyses of the divergence between these two systems and the functionality of this newly described TA system family. Furthermore, we provide evidence to refute p

SUBMITTER: Lin JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10653801 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature