Bacteriophage behavioral ecology

Abstract

Bacteriophages have an essential gene kit that enables their invasion, replication, and production. In addition to this "core" genome, they can carry "accessory" genes that dramatically impact bacterial biology, and presumably boost their own success. The content of phage genomes continue to surprise us by revealing new ways that viruses impact bacterial biology. The genome of a <i>Clostridium difficile</i> myovirus, phiCDHM1, contains homologs of three bacterial accessory gene regulator (<i>agr</i>) genes. The <i>agr</i> system is a type of quorum sensing (QS), via which the phage may modify <i>C. difficile</i> interactions with its environment. Although their mechanism of action is unknown, mutants in bacterial versions of these genes impact sporulation and virulence. To explore how phage QS genes may influence <i>C. difficile</i> biology, we examine the main categories of bacterial behavior that phages have been shown to influence and discuss how interactions via QS could influence behavior at a wider level.