Capturing dynamic phage-pathogen coevolution by clinical surveillance.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria harness diverse defense systems that protect against phage predation¹, many of which are encoded on horizontally transmitted mobile genetic elements (MGEs)². In turn, phages evolve counter-defenses³, driving a dynamic arms race that remains underexplored in human disease contexts. For the diarrheal pathogen Vibrio cholerae, a higher burden of its lytic phage, ICP1, in patient stool correlates with reduced disease severity⁴. However, direct molecular evidence of phage-driven selection of epidemic V. cholerae has not been demonstrated. Here, through clinical surveillance in cholera-endemic Bangladesh, we capture the acquisition of a parasitic anti-phage MGE, PLE11, that initiated a selective sweep coinciding with the largest

SUBMITTER: Mathur Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11838301 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature