Rampant prophage movement among transient competitors drives rapid adaptation during infection.

ABSTRACT: Interactions between bacteria, their close competitors, and viral parasites are common in infections, but understanding of these eco-evolutionary dynamics is limited. Most examples of adaptations caused by phage lysogeny are through the acquisition of new genes. However, integrated prophages can also insert into functional genes and impart a fitness benefit by disrupting their expression, a process called active lysogeny. Here, we show that active lysogeny can fuel rapid, parallel adaptations in establishing a chronic infection. These recombination events repeatedly disrupted genes encoding global regulators, leading to increased cyclic di-GMP levels and elevated biofilm production. The implications of prophage-mediated adaptation are broad, as even transient members of microbial communiti

SUBMITTER: Marshall CW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8284892 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature