The Prevalence and Diversity of Marine Toxin-Antitoxin Systems.

ABSTRACT: Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems, ubiquitous in bacterial and archaeal genomes, play pivotal roles in responding to environmental stresses, forming biofilms, defending against phages, and influencing pathogen virulence. The marine environment harbors Earth's most diverse and abundant microbial communities, where microorganisms have evolved unique genetic adaptations and specialized metabolic processes to thrive amid distinct environmental challenges. Research on the presence and function of TA systems in marine bacteria lags significantly behind that in model bacteria and pathogens. Here, we explored the diversity of the TA system in marine bacteria, including species from the Global Ocean Microbiome Catalogue (GOMC) and the Mariana Trench Environment and Ecology Research (MEER) databases. Our

SUBMITTER: Liu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12654330 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature