Widespread Utilization of Peptide Communication in Phages Infecting Soil and Pathogenic Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Temperate phages can adopt either a lytic or lysogenic lifestyle within their host bacteria. It was recently shown that Bacillus-subtilis-infecting phages of the SPbeta group utilize a peptide-based communication system called arbitrium to coordinate the lysogeny decision. The occurrence of peptide-based communication systems among phages more broadly remains to be explored. Here, we uncover a wide array of peptide-based communication systems utilized by phages for lysogeny decisions. These arbitrium-like systems show diverse peptide codes and can be detected in numerous genetically distant phage types and conjugative elements. The pathogens Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus thuringiensis are commonly infected by arbitrium-carrying mobile elements, which often carry toxins

SUBMITTER: Stokar-Avihail A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6986904 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature