Phase-variable capsular polysaccharides and lipoproteins modify bacteriophage susceptibility in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron.

ABSTRACT: A variety of cell surface structures dictate interactions between bacteria and their environment, including their viruses (bacteriophages). Members of the human gut Bacteroidetes characteristically produce several phase-variable capsular polysaccharides (CPSs), but their contributions to bacteriophage interactions are unknown. To begin to understand how CPSs have an impact on Bacteroides-phage interactions, we isolated 71 Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron-infecting bacteriophages from two locations in the United States. Using B. thetaiotaomicron strains that express defined subsets of CPSs, we show that CPSs dictate host tropism for these phages and that expression of non-permissive CPS variants is selected under phage predation, enabling survival. In the absence of CPSs, B. thetaiotaomicron es

SUBMITTER: Porter NT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7482406 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature