Co-opting bacterial viruses for DNA exchange: structure and regulation of gene transfer agents.

Autor: Banks EJ; Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK. Electronic address: emma.banks@jic.ac.uk., Le TBK; Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK. Electronic address: tung.le@jic.ac.uk.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Current opinion in microbiology [Curr Opin Microbiol] 2024 Apr; Vol. 78, pp. 102431. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Feb 02.
DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2024.102431
Abstrakt: Horizontal gene transfer occurs via a range of mechanisms, including transformation, conjugation and bacteriophage transduction. Gene transfer agents (GTAs) are an alternative, less-studied route for interbacterial DNA exchange. Encoded within bacterial or archaeal genomes, GTAs assemble into phage-like particles that selflessly package and transmit host DNA to recipient bacteria. Several unique features distinguish GTAs from canonical phages such as an inability to self-replicate, thus producing non-infectious particles. GTAs are also deeply integrated into the physiology of the host cell and are maintained under tight host-regulatory control. Recent advances in understanding the structure and regulation of GTAs have provided further insights into a DNA transfer mechanism that is proving increasingly widespread across the bacterial tree of life.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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