The role of temperate phages in bacterial pathogenicity

Authors: GUMMALLA, VIMATHI - Hispanic Association Of Colleges & Universities (HACU); ZHANG, YUJIE - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); Liao, Yen-Te; Wu, Vivian

Submitted to: Microorganisms
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/16/2023
Publication Date: 2/21/2023
Citation: Gummalla, V., Zhang, Y., Liao, Y., Wu, V.C. 2023. The role of temperate phages in bacterial pathogenicity. Microorganisms. 11(3). Article 541. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11030541.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11030541

Interpretive Summary: Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria and archaea, can be virulent or temperate. Virulent phages have a lytic life cycle to hijack bacterial machinery for producing infectious phage progenies and lyse the bacterial cells to release the viral particles. On the contrary, temperate phages can integrate their genome into the host bacterial genome after infection and replicate along with bacterial propagation. Some newly introduced genes are beneficial to the bacterial host. In this review, three phage-mediated pathways that contribute to the bacterial pathogenicity of foodborne pathogens were summarized, including the transfer of virulence factors, antibiotic resistance gene mobilization, and enhanced biofilm formation. Therefore, the risks related to the interactions between temperate phages and bacteria should be considered in the food processing environment to improve food safety.

Technical Abstract: Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and archaea and are classified as virulent or temperate phages based on their life cycles. A temperate phage, also known as a lysogenic phage, integrates its genomes into host bacterial chromosomes as a prophage. Previous studies indicated that temperate phages are beneficial to their susceptible bacterial hosts by introducing additional genes to bacterial chromosomes, creating a mutually-beneficial relationship. In this article, three primary ways of how temperate phages contribute to the bacterial pathogenicity of foodborne pathogens, including phage-mediated virulence gene transfer, antibiotic resistance gene mobilization, and biofilm formation, were reviewed. This study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of phage-bacterium interactions and provokes new considerations for avoiding phage-mediated harmful gene transfer during food processing.