The phage defence island of a multidrug resistant plasmid uses both BREX and type IV restriction for complementary protection from viruses.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria have evolved a multitude of systems to prevent invasion by bacteriophages and other mobile genetic elements. Comparative genomics suggests that genes encoding bacterial defence mechanisms are often clustered in 'defence islands', providing a concerted level of protection against a wider range of attackers. However, there is a comparative paucity of information on functional interplay between multiple defence systems. Here, we have functionally characterised a defence island from a multidrug resistant plasmid of the emerging pathogen Escherichia fergusonii. Using a suite of thirty environmentally-isolated coliphages, we demonstrate multi-layered and robust phage protection provided by a plasmid-encoded defence island that expresses both a type I BREX system and the novel GmrSD-fami

SUBMITTER: Picton DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8565348 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature