Filamentous phages reduce bacterial growth in low salinities
- Goehlich, Henry ORCID Marine Evolutionary Ecology, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
- Roth, Olivia ORCID Marine Evolutionary Ecology, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
- Wendling, Carolin C. ORCID ETH Zürich, Institute of Integrative Biology, Universitätstrasse 16, CHN D 33, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- 2019-12-11
Published in:
- Royal Society Open Science. - The Royal Society. - 2019, vol. 6, no. 12, p. 191669
English
Being non-lytic, filamentous phages can replicate at high frequencies and often carry virulence factors, which are important in the evolution and emergence of novel pathogens. However, their net effect on bacterial fitness remains unknown. To understand the ecology and evolution between filamentous phages and their hosts, it is important to assess (i) fitness effects of filamentous phages on their hosts and (ii) how these effects depend on the environment. To determine how the net effect on bacterial fitness by filamentous phages changes across environments, we constructed phage–bacteria infection networks at ambient 15 practical salinity units (PSU) and stressful salinities (11 and 7 PSU) using the marine bacterium,
Vibrio alginolyticus
and its derived filamentous phages as model system. We observed no significant difference in network structure at 15 and 11 PSU. However, at 7 PSU phages significantly reduced bacterial growth changing network structure. This pattern was mainly driven by a significant increase in bacterial susceptibility. Our findings suggest that filamentous phages decrease bacterial growth, an indirect measure of fitness in stressful environmental conditions, which might impact bacterial communities, alter horizontal gene transfer events and possibly favour the emergence of novel pathogens in environmental
Vibrios
.
Being non-lytic, filamentous phages can replicate at high frequencies and often carry virulence factors, which are important in the evolution and emergence of novel pathogens. However, their net effect on bacterial fitness remains unknown. To understand the ecology and evolution between filamentous phages and their hosts, it is important to assess (i) fitness effects of filamentous phages on their hosts and (ii) how these effects depend on the environment. To determine how the net effect on bacterial fitness by filamentous phages changes across environments, we constructed phage–bacteria infection networks at ambient 15 practical salinity units (PSU) and stressful salinities (11 and 7 PSU) using the marine bacterium,
and its derived filamentous phages as model system. We observed no significant difference in network structure at 15 and 11 PSU. However, at 7 PSU phages significantly reduced bacterial growth changing network structure. This pattern was mainly driven by a significant increase in bacterial susceptibility. Our findings suggest that filamentous phages decrease bacterial growth, an indirect measure of fitness in stressful environmental conditions, which might impact bacterial communities, alter horizontal gene transfer events and possibly favour the emergence of novel pathogens in environmental
.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- gold
- Identifiers
-
- DOI 10.1098/rsos.191669
- ISSN 2054-5703
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/250255
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