TY - JOUR
T1 - Prophage excision activates listeria competence genes that promote phagosomal escape and virulence
AU - Rabinovich, Lev
AU - Sigal, Nadejda
AU - Borovok, Ilya
AU - Nir-Paz, Ran
AU - Herskovits, Anat A.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Avigdor Eldar, Martin Kupiec, and Gil Segal for critical reviews of the manuscript; Tamar Burg Golani and Millie Kaplan Zeevi for their kind help; and Daniel Portnoy, Howard Goldfine, and Helene Marquis for supplying us with antibodies. This study was partially funded by grants from the ERA-NET PathoGenoMics, the Israel Science Foundation and European Union FP7 (IRG) program (to A.A.H.), and the Legacy Heritage Fund, Israel Science Foundation (to R.N.-P.).
PY - 2012/8/17
Y1 - 2012/8/17
N2 - The DNA uptake competence (Com) system of the intracellular bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes is considered nonfunctional. There are no known conditions for DNA transformation, and the Com master activator gene, comK, is interrupted by a temperate prophage. Here, we show that the L. monocytogenes Com system is required during infection to promote bacterial escape from macrophage phagosomes in a manner that is independent of DNA uptake. Further, we find that regulation of the Com system relies on the formation of a functional comK gene via prophage excision. Prophage excision is specifically induced during intracellular growth, primarily within phagosomes, yet, in contrast to classic prophage induction, progeny virions are not produced. This study presents the characterization of an active prophage that serves as a genetic switch to modulate the virulence of its bacterial host in the course of infection.
AB - The DNA uptake competence (Com) system of the intracellular bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes is considered nonfunctional. There are no known conditions for DNA transformation, and the Com master activator gene, comK, is interrupted by a temperate prophage. Here, we show that the L. monocytogenes Com system is required during infection to promote bacterial escape from macrophage phagosomes in a manner that is independent of DNA uptake. Further, we find that regulation of the Com system relies on the formation of a functional comK gene via prophage excision. Prophage excision is specifically induced during intracellular growth, primarily within phagosomes, yet, in contrast to classic prophage induction, progeny virions are not produced. This study presents the characterization of an active prophage that serves as a genetic switch to modulate the virulence of its bacterial host in the course of infection.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84865240356&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cell.2012.06.036
DO - 10.1016/j.cell.2012.06.036
M3 - מאמר
C2 - 22901809
AN - SCOPUS:84865240356
VL - 150
SP - 792
EP - 802
JO - Cell
JF - Cell
SN - 0092-8674
IS - 4
ER -