Impact of Xenogeneic Silencing on Phage-Host Interactions.

ABSTRACT: Phages, viruses that prey on bacteria, are the most abundant and diverse inhabitants of the Earth. Temperate bacteriophages can integrate into the host genome and, as so-called prophages, maintain a long-term association with their host. The close relationship between host and virus has significantly shaped microbial evolution and phage elements may benefit their host by providing new functions. Nevertheless, the strong activity of phage promoters and potentially toxic gene products may impose a severe fitness burden and must be tightly controlled. In this context, xenogeneic silencing (XS) proteins, which can recognize foreign DNA elements, play an important role in the acquisition of novel genetic information and facilitate the evolution of regulatory networks. Currently known XS protein

SUBMITTER: Pfeifer E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6925973 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature