Assessing the Role of Bacterial Innate and Adaptive Immunity as Barriers to Conjugative Plasmids.

ABSTRACT: Plasmids are ubiquitous mobile genetic elements, that can be either costly or beneficial for their bacterial host. In response to constant viral threat, bacteria have evolved various immune systems, such as the prevalent restriction modification (innate immunity) and CRISPR-Cas systems (adaptive immunity). At the molecular level, both systems also target plasmids, but the consequences of these interactions for plasmid spread are unclear. Using a modeling approach, we show that restriction modification and CRISPR-Cas are effective as barriers against the spread of costly plasmids, but not against beneficial ones. Consequently, bacteria can profit from the selective advantages that beneficial plasmids confer even in the presence of bacterial immunity. While plasmids that are costly for bacte

SUBMITTER: Siedentop B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11525042 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature