Stable coexistence between an archaeal virus and the dominant methanogen of the human gut

Autor: Diana P. Baquero, Sofia Medvedeva, Camille Martin-Gallausiaux, Nika Pende, Anna Sartori-Rupp, Stéphane Tachon, Thierry Pedron, Laurent Debarbieux, Guillaume Borrel, Simonetta Gribaldo, Mart Krupovic
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nature Communications, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2041-1723
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51946-x
Popis: Abstract The human gut virome, which is mainly composed of bacteriophages, also includes viruses infecting archaea, yet their role remains poorly understood due to lack of isolates. Here, we characterize a temperate archaeal virus (MSTV1) infecting Methanobrevibacter smithii, the dominant methanogenic archaeon of the human gut. The MSTV1 genome is integrated in the host chromosome as a provirus which is sporadically induced, resulting in virion release. Using cryo-electron tomography, we capture several intracellular virion assembly intermediates and confirm that only a small fraction of the host population actively produces virions in vitro. Similar low frequency of induction is observed in a mouse colonization model, using mice harboring a stable consortium of 12 bacterial species (OMM12). Transcriptomic analysis suggests a regulatory lysogeny-lysis switch involving an interplay between viral proteins to maintain virus-host equilibrium, ensuring host survival and viral persistence. Thus, our study sheds light on archaeal virus-host interactions and highlights similarities with bacteriophages in establishing stable coexistence with their hosts in the gut.
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