Killing niche competitors by remote-control bacteriophage induction

A surprising example of interspecies competition is the production by certain bacteria of hydrogen peroxide at concentrations that are lethal for others. A case in point is the displacement of Staphylococcus aureus by Streptococcus pneumoniae in the nasopharynx, which is of considerable clinical sig...

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Autores principales: Selva, Laura, Viana, David, Regev-Yochay, Gili, Trzcinski, Krzysztof, Corpa, Juan M., Lasa, Inigo, Novick, Richard P., Penadés, José R.
Formato: article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2017
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/4514
https://www.pnas.org/content/106/4/1234
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author Selva, Laura
Viana, David
Regev-Yochay, Gili
Trzcinski, Krzysztof
Corpa, Juan M.
Lasa, Inigo
Novick, Richard P.
Penadés, José R.
author_browse Corpa, Juan M.
Lasa, Inigo
Novick, Richard P.
Penadés, José R.
Regev-Yochay, Gili
Selva, Laura
Trzcinski, Krzysztof
Viana, David
author_facet Selva, Laura
Viana, David
Regev-Yochay, Gili
Trzcinski, Krzysztof
Corpa, Juan M.
Lasa, Inigo
Novick, Richard P.
Penadés, José R.
author_sort Selva, Laura
collection ReDivia
description A surprising example of interspecies competition is the production by certain bacteria of hydrogen peroxide at concentrations that are lethal for others. A case in point is the displacement of Staphylococcus aureus by Streptococcus pneumoniae in the nasopharynx, which is of considerable clinical significance. How it is accomplished, however, has been a great mystery, because H2O2 is a very well known disinfectant whose lethality is largely due to the production of hyperoxides through the abiological Fenton reaction. In this report, we have solved the mystery by showing that H2O2 at the concentrations typically produced by pneumococci kills lysogenic but not nonlysogenic staphylococci by inducing the SOS response. The SOS response, a stress response to DNA damage, not only invokes DNA repair mechanisms but also induces resident prophages, and the resulting lysis is responsible for H2O2 lethality. Because the vast majority of S. aureus strains are lysogenic, the production of H2O2 is a very widely effective antistaphylococcal strategy. Pneumococci, however, which are also commonly lysogenic and undergo SOS induction in response to DNA-damaging agents such as mitomycin C, are not SOS-induced on exposure to H2O2. This is apparently because they are resistant to the DNA-damaging effects of the Fenton reaction. The production of an SOS-inducing signal to activate prophages in neighboring organisms is thus a rather unique competitive strategy, which we suggest may be in widespread use for bacterial interference. However, this strategy has as a by-product the release of active phage, which can potentially spread mobile genetic elements carrying virulence genes.
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spelling ReDivia45142025-04-25T14:43:44Z Killing niche competitors by remote-control bacteriophage induction Selva, Laura Viana, David Regev-Yochay, Gili Trzcinski, Krzysztof Corpa, Juan M. Lasa, Inigo Novick, Richard P. Penadés, José R. A surprising example of interspecies competition is the production by certain bacteria of hydrogen peroxide at concentrations that are lethal for others. A case in point is the displacement of Staphylococcus aureus by Streptococcus pneumoniae in the nasopharynx, which is of considerable clinical significance. How it is accomplished, however, has been a great mystery, because H2O2 is a very well known disinfectant whose lethality is largely due to the production of hyperoxides through the abiological Fenton reaction. In this report, we have solved the mystery by showing that H2O2 at the concentrations typically produced by pneumococci kills lysogenic but not nonlysogenic staphylococci by inducing the SOS response. The SOS response, a stress response to DNA damage, not only invokes DNA repair mechanisms but also induces resident prophages, and the resulting lysis is responsible for H2O2 lethality. Because the vast majority of S. aureus strains are lysogenic, the production of H2O2 is a very widely effective antistaphylococcal strategy. Pneumococci, however, which are also commonly lysogenic and undergo SOS induction in response to DNA-damaging agents such as mitomycin C, are not SOS-induced on exposure to H2O2. This is apparently because they are resistant to the DNA-damaging effects of the Fenton reaction. The production of an SOS-inducing signal to activate prophages in neighboring organisms is thus a rather unique competitive strategy, which we suggest may be in widespread use for bacterial interference. However, this strategy has as a by-product the release of active phage, which can potentially spread mobile genetic elements carrying virulence genes. 2017-06-01T10:10:19Z 2017-06-01T10:10:19Z 2009 JAN 27 2009 article Selva, L., Viana, David, Regev-Yochay, Gili, Trzcinski, Krzysztof, Corpa, J. M., Lasa, Inigo, Novick, Richard P., Penades, J.R. (2009). Killing niche competitors by remote-control bacteriophage induction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(4), 1234-1238. 0027-8424 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/4514 10.1073/pnas.0809600106 https://www.pnas.org/content/106/4/1234 en openAccess Impreso
spellingShingle Selva, Laura
Viana, David
Regev-Yochay, Gili
Trzcinski, Krzysztof
Corpa, Juan M.
Lasa, Inigo
Novick, Richard P.
Penadés, José R.
Killing niche competitors by remote-control bacteriophage induction
title Killing niche competitors by remote-control bacteriophage induction
title_full Killing niche competitors by remote-control bacteriophage induction
title_fullStr Killing niche competitors by remote-control bacteriophage induction
title_full_unstemmed Killing niche competitors by remote-control bacteriophage induction
title_short Killing niche competitors by remote-control bacteriophage induction
title_sort killing niche competitors by remote control bacteriophage induction
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/4514
https://www.pnas.org/content/106/4/1234
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