Origin of a Core Bacterial Gene via Co-option and Detoxification of a Phage Lysin.

ABSTRACT: Temperate phages constitute a potentially beneficial genetic reservoir for bacterial innovation despite being selfish entities encoding an infection cycle inherently at odds with bacterial fitness. These phages integrate their genomes into the bacterial host during infection, donating new but deleterious genetic material: the phage genome encodes toxic genes, such as lysins, that kill the bacterium during the phage infection cycle. Remarkably, some bacteria have exploited the destructive properties of phage genes for their own benefit by co-opting them as toxins for functions related to bacterial warfare, virulence, and secretion. However, do toxic phage genes ever become raw material for functional innovation? Here, we report on a toxic phage gene whose product has lost its toxicity and h

SUBMITTER: Randich AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6594375 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature