TY - JOUR
T1 - Specialized Listeria monocytogenes produce tailocins to provide a population-level competitive growth advantage
AU - Sigal, Nadejda
AU - Lichtenstein-Wolfheim, Rotem
AU - Schlussel, Shai
AU - Azulay, Gil
AU - Borovok, Ilya
AU - Holdengraber, Vered
AU - Elad, Nadav
AU - Wolf, Sharon G.
AU - Zalk, Ran
AU - Zarivach, Raz
AU - Frank, Gabriel A.
AU - Herskovits, Anat A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2024.
PY - 2024/10
Y1 - 2024/10
N2 - Tailocins are phage tail-like bacteriocins produced by various bacterial species to kill kin competitors. Given that tailocin release is dependent upon cell lysis, regulation of tailocin production at the single-cell and population level remains unclear. Here we used flow cytometry, competition assays and structural characterization of tailocin production in a human bacterial pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes. We revealed that a specialized subpopulation, constituting less than 1% of the total bacterial population, differentiates to produce, assemble and store thousands of tailocin particles. Tailocins are packed in a highly ordered manner, clustered in a liquid crystalline phase that occupies a substantial volume of the cell. Tailocin production confers a competitive growth advantage for the rest of the population. This study provides molecular insights into tailocin production as a form of altruism, showing how cell specialization within bacterial populations can confer competitive advantages at the population level.
AB - Tailocins are phage tail-like bacteriocins produced by various bacterial species to kill kin competitors. Given that tailocin release is dependent upon cell lysis, regulation of tailocin production at the single-cell and population level remains unclear. Here we used flow cytometry, competition assays and structural characterization of tailocin production in a human bacterial pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes. We revealed that a specialized subpopulation, constituting less than 1% of the total bacterial population, differentiates to produce, assemble and store thousands of tailocin particles. Tailocins are packed in a highly ordered manner, clustered in a liquid crystalline phase that occupies a substantial volume of the cell. Tailocin production confers a competitive growth advantage for the rest of the population. This study provides molecular insights into tailocin production as a form of altruism, showing how cell specialization within bacterial populations can confer competitive advantages at the population level.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85204282758&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41564-024-01793-9
DO - 10.1038/s41564-024-01793-9
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C2 - 39300324
AN - SCOPUS:85204282758
SN - 2058-5276
VL - 9
SP - 2727
EP - 2737
JO - Nature Microbiology
JF - Nature Microbiology
IS - 10
ER -