RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Independent host- and bacterium-based determinants protect a model symbiosis from phage predation
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.07.09.451802
DO 10.1101/2021.07.09.451802
A1 Jonathan B. Lynch
A1 Brittany D. Bennett
A1 Bryan D. Merrill
A1 Edward G. Ruby
A1 Andrew J. Hryckowian
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/07/09/2021.07.09.451802.abstract
AB Bacteriophages (phages) are diverse and abundant constituents of microbial communities worldwide, and are capable of modulating bacterial populations in diverse ways. Here we describe a novel phage, ϕHNL01, which infects the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri. We use culture-based approaches to demonstrate that mutations in the exopolysaccharide locus of V. fischeri render this bacterium resistant to infection by ϕHNL01, highlighting the extracellular matrix as a key determinant of phage tropism in this interaction. Additionally, using the natural symbiosis between V. fischeri and the squid Euprymna scolopes, we show that during colonization, V. fischeri is protected from phage present in the ambient seawater. Taken together, these findings shed light on independent yet synergistic host- and bacterium-based strategies for resisting symbiosis-disrupting phage predation, and present important implications for understanding these strategies in the context of host-associated microbial ecosystems.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.