Project description:Differential RNA-seq (dRNA-seq) was performed on Pseudomonas aeruginosa alone or shortly after iinfection with the jumbo phage phiKZ
Project description:Viral genomes are most vulnerable to cellular defenses at the start of the infection. A family of jumbo phages related to phage ΦKZ, which infects Pseudomonas aeruginosa, assembles a protein-based phage nucleus to protect replicating phage DNA, but how it is protected prior to phage nucleus assembly is unclear. We find that host proteins related to membrane and lipid biology interact with injected phage protein, clustering in an early phage infection (EPI) vesicle. The injected virion RNA polymerase (vRNAP) executes early gene expression until phage genome separation from the vRNAP and the EPI vesicle, moving into the nascent proteinaceous phage nucleus. Enzymes involved in DNA replication and CRISPR/restriction immune nucleases are excluded by the EPI vesicle. We propose that the EPI vesicle is rapidly constructed with injected phage proteins, phage DNA, host lipids, and host membrane proteins to enable genome protection, early transcription, localized translation, and to ensure faithful genome transfer to the proteinaceous nucleus.
Project description:Viral genomes are most vulnerable to cellular defenses at the start of the infection. A family of jumbo phages related to phage ΦKZ, which infects Pseudomonas aeruginosa, assembles a protein-based phage nucleus to protect replicating phage DNA, but how it is protected prior to phage nucleus assembly is unclear. We find that host proteins related to membrane and lipid biology interact with injected phage protein, clustering in an early phage infection (EPI) vesicle. The injected virion RNA polymerase (vRNAP) executes early gene expression until phage genome separation from the vRNAP and the EPI vesicle, moving into the nascent proteinaceous phage nucleus. Enzymes involved in DNA replication and CRISPR/restriction immune nucleases are excluded by the EPI vesicle. We propose that the EPI vesicle is rapidly constructed with injected phage proteins, phage DNA, host lipids, and host membrane proteins to enable genome protection, early transcription, localized translation, and to ensure faithful genome transfer to the proteinaceous nucleus.
Project description:We have isolated and characterized several bacteriophages infecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa distantly related to Felix O1 virus and proposed they form a new subfamily named Felixounavirinae. The infectious cycle of bacteriophages belonging to this subfamily has not been studied yet in terms of gene expression. The present study reports the RNA-Seq analysis of bacteriophage PAK_P3 infecting PAK strain of P. aeruginosa. RNA profile of Host and Phage at 0min, 3.5min and 13 min after infection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAK strain with the Pseudomonas phage PAK P3. Three biological replicates for each time point.
Project description:Large-genome bacteriophages (jumbo phages) of the Chimalliviriadae family assemble a nucleus-like compartment bounded by a protein shell that protects the replicating phage genome from host-encoded restriction enzymes and CRISPR/Cas nucleases. While the nuclear shell provides broad protection against host nucleases, it necessitates transport of mRNA out of the nucleus-like compartment for translation by host ribosomes, and transport of specific proteins into the nucleus-like compartment to support DNA replication and mRNA transcription. Here we identify a conserved phage nuclear shell-associated protein that we term chimallin C (ChmC), which adopts a nucleic acid-binding fold, binds RNA with high affinity in vitro and binds phage mRNAs in infected cells. ChmC also forms phase-separated condensates with RNA. Targeted knockdown of ChmC using mRNA-targeting Cas13d halts infections at an early stage. Taken together, our data suggest that the conserved ChmC protein acts as a chaperone for phage mRNAs, potentially stabilizing these mRNAs and driving their translocation through the nuclear shell to promote translation and infection progression.
Project description:RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of phage infected bacterial cultures offers a snapshot of transcriptional events occurring during the infection process, providing insights into the phage transcriptional organization as well as the bacterial response. To better mimic real environmental contexts, we performed RNA-seq of P. aeruginosa PAO1 cultures infected with phage LUZ19 in a mammalian cell culture medium (MCCM) to better simulate a phage therapy event, and the data were compared to LB medium. Regardless of the media, phage LUZ19 induces significant transcriptional changes in the bacterial host over time, particularly during early infection (t= 5 min) and gradually shuts down bacterial transcription. In a common response in both media, 56 P. aeruginosa PAO1 genes are differentially transcribed and clustered into several functional categories such as metabolism, translation and transcription. Our data allowed us to tease apart a medium-specific response during infection from the identified infection-associated responses. This reinforces the concept that phages overtake bacterial transcriptome in a strict manner to gain control of the bacterial machinery and reallocate resources for infection, in this case overcoming the nutritional limitations of the mammalian cell culture medium. From a phage therapy perspective, this study contributes towards a better understanding of phage-host interaction in human physiological conditions and demonstrates the versatility of phage LUZ19 to adapt to different environments.
Project description:DDA analysis of phage phiR201 infecting Yersinia enterocolitica using the Uniprot proteomes UP000002908 and UP000000642 as sequence database
Project description:Large-genome bacteriophages (jumbo phages) of the Chimalliviriadae family assemble a nucleus-like compartment bounded by a protein shell that protects the replicating phage genome from host-encoded restriction enzymes and CRISPR/Cas nucleases. While the nuclear shell provides broad protection against host nucleases, it necessitates transport of mRNA out of the nucleus-like compartment for translation by host ribosomes, and transport of specific proteins into the nucleus-like compartment to support DNA replication and mRNA transcription. Here we identify a conserved phage nuclear shell-associated protein that we term Chimallin C (ChmC), which adopts a nucleic acid-binding fold, binds RNA with high affinity in vitro, and binds phage mRNAs in infected cells. ChmC also forms phase-separated condensates with RNA in vitro. Targeted knockdown of ChmC using mRNA-targeting dCas13d halts infections at an early stage. Taken together, our data suggest that the conserved ChmC protein acts as a chaperone for phage mRNAs, potentially stabilizing these mRNAs and driving their translocation through the nuclear shell to promote translation and infection progression.
Project description:Quorum sensing (QS) is the cell density-dependent virulence factor regulator in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here, we elucidate PIT2, a phage-encoded inhibitor of the QS regulator LasR, derived from the lytic Pseudomonas phage LMA2. PIT2 inhibits the effectors PrpL and LasA of the type 2 secretion system of P. aeruginosa and attenuates bacterial virulence towards HeLa cells and in Galleria mellonella. Using RNAseq-based differential gene expression analysis, the effect of PIT2 on the LasR regulatory network was revealed. Moreover, the specific interaction between LasR and PIT2 was determined. These data expand our knowledge on phage-encoded modulators of the bacterial metabolism, as this examples an anti-virulence protein derived from a lytic phage. From an applied perspective, this phage protein reveals and exploits an interesting anti-virulence target in P. aeruginosa. As such, it lays the foundation for a new phage-inspired anti-virulence strategy to combat multidrug resistant pathogens and opens the door for SynBio applications.