Diverse LXG toxin and antitoxin systems specifically mediate intraspecies competition in Bacillus subtilis biofilms.

ABSTRACT: Biofilms are multispecies communities, in which bacteria constantly compete with one another for resources and niches. Bacteria produce many antibiotics and toxins for competition. However, since biofilm cells exhibit increased tolerance to antimicrobials, their roles in biofilms remain controversial. Here, we showed that Bacillus subtilis produces multiple diverse polymorphic toxins, called LXG toxins, that contain N-terminal LXG delivery domains and diverse C-terminal toxin domains. Each B. subtilis strain possesses a distinct set of LXG toxin-antitoxin genes, the number and variation of which is sufficient to distinguish each strain. The B. subtilis strain NCIB3610 possesses six LXG toxin-antitoxin operons on its chromosome, and five of the toxins functioned as DNase. In competition ass

SUBMITTER: Kobayashi K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8321402 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature