Reversible bacteriophage resistance by shedding the bacterial cell wall
Phages are highly abundant in the environment and pose a major threat for bacteria. Therefore, bacteria have evolved sophisticated defence systems to withstand phage attacks. Here, we describe a previously unknown mechanism by which mono- and diderm bacteria survive infection with diverse lytic phag...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Open Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsob.210379 |
| _version_ | 1797974487731273728 |
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| author | Véronique Ongenae Adam Sidi Mabrouk Marjolein Crooijmans Daniel Rozen Ariane Briegel Dennis Claessen |
| author_facet | Véronique Ongenae Adam Sidi Mabrouk Marjolein Crooijmans Daniel Rozen Ariane Briegel Dennis Claessen |
| author_sort | Véronique Ongenae |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Phages are highly abundant in the environment and pose a major threat for bacteria. Therefore, bacteria have evolved sophisticated defence systems to withstand phage attacks. Here, we describe a previously unknown mechanism by which mono- and diderm bacteria survive infection with diverse lytic phages. Phage exposure leads to a rapid and near-complete conversion of walled cells to a cell-wall-deficient state, which remains viable in osmoprotective conditions and can revert to the walled state. While shedding the cell wall dramatically reduces the number of progeny phages produced by the host, it does not always preclude phage infection. Altogether, these results show that the formation of cell-wall-deficient cells prevents complete eradication of the bacterial population and suggest that cell wall deficiency may potentially limit the efficacy of phage therapy, especially in highly osmotic environments or when used together with antibiotics that target the cell wall. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:20:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-853351c7fe5940ef99acee6dbd9d3540 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2046-2441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:20:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-853351c7fe5940ef99acee6dbd9d35402022-12-30T17:14:14ZengThe Royal SocietyOpen Biology2046-24412022-06-0112610.1098/rsob.210379Reversible bacteriophage resistance by shedding the bacterial cell wallVéronique Ongenae0Adam Sidi Mabrouk1Marjolein Crooijmans2Daniel Rozen3Ariane Briegel4Dennis Claessen5Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA, Leiden, The NetherlandsMolecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA, Leiden, The NetherlandsMolecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA, Leiden, The NetherlandsMolecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA, Leiden, The NetherlandsMolecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA, Leiden, The NetherlandsMolecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA, Leiden, The NetherlandsPhages are highly abundant in the environment and pose a major threat for bacteria. Therefore, bacteria have evolved sophisticated defence systems to withstand phage attacks. Here, we describe a previously unknown mechanism by which mono- and diderm bacteria survive infection with diverse lytic phages. Phage exposure leads to a rapid and near-complete conversion of walled cells to a cell-wall-deficient state, which remains viable in osmoprotective conditions and can revert to the walled state. While shedding the cell wall dramatically reduces the number of progeny phages produced by the host, it does not always preclude phage infection. Altogether, these results show that the formation of cell-wall-deficient cells prevents complete eradication of the bacterial population and suggest that cell wall deficiency may potentially limit the efficacy of phage therapy, especially in highly osmotic environments or when used together with antibiotics that target the cell wall.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsob.210379cell wallbacteriophageL-formscell wall deficiencyantibiotics |
| spellingShingle | Véronique Ongenae Adam Sidi Mabrouk Marjolein Crooijmans Daniel Rozen Ariane Briegel Dennis Claessen Reversible bacteriophage resistance by shedding the bacterial cell wall Open Biology cell wall bacteriophage L-forms cell wall deficiency antibiotics |
| title | Reversible bacteriophage resistance by shedding the bacterial cell wall |
| title_full | Reversible bacteriophage resistance by shedding the bacterial cell wall |
| title_fullStr | Reversible bacteriophage resistance by shedding the bacterial cell wall |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reversible bacteriophage resistance by shedding the bacterial cell wall |
| title_short | Reversible bacteriophage resistance by shedding the bacterial cell wall |
| title_sort | reversible bacteriophage resistance by shedding the bacterial cell wall |
| topic | cell wall bacteriophage L-forms cell wall deficiency antibiotics |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsob.210379 |
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