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Special Issue "Phage–Host Interactions: From Communities to Single Particles"

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A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Bacterial Viruses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 6478

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Li Deng

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Guest Editor

Helmholtz Centre Munich, Technical University of Munich, 80333 München, Germany
Interests: phageome; virome; phage-host interactions; phage therapy

Dr. Mohammadali Khan Mirzaei

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Co-Guest Editor

Helmholtz Centre Munich, Technical University of Munich, 80333 München, Germany
Interests: phageome; virome; phage-host interactions; phage therapy

Dr. Jinling Xue
E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor

Helmholtz Centre Munich, Technical University of Munich, 80333 München, Germany
Interests: phageome; virome; phage-host interactions; phage therapy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to launch a Special Issue entitled Phage–Host Interactions: From Communities to Single Particles together with an expert editorial team.

This Special Issue acts as a platform for publishing original research and reviews exploring the interactions between phages and their bacterial hosts on multiple levels—from communities to single cells or single-phage-single-host—using model systems. We also welcome studies that investigate the role of phages in shaping bacterial diversity and physiology and shed some light on the underlying mechanisms behind phage-mediated changes in bacteria. We are particularly interested in attracting studies that use cutting-edge technologies in molecular biology, system biology, biochemistry, ecology, and computer science to explore interactions between phages and bacteria in different ecosystems.

We aim to recruit top phage researchers to contribute to this Special Issue of viruses and sincerely hope that the provided information will attract your interest and encourage you to provide your contribution(s) to this call.

Prof. Dr. Li Deng
Dr. Mohammadali Khan Mirzaei
Dr. Jinling Xue
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

phageome
virome
phage-host interactions
phage therapy

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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Open AccessArticle

Phage K gp102 Drives Temperature-Sensitive Antibacterial Activity on USA300 MRSA

and

Viruses 2023, 15(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15010017 - 21 Dec 2022

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Abstract

There is widespread interest in using obligately lytic bacteriophages (“phages”) to treat human bacterial infections. Among Staphylococcus aureus infections, the USA300 lineage is a frequent cause of invasive disease. We observed that phage K, a model S. aureus myophage, exhibits temperature-sensitive growth on USA300 strains, with the wild-type phage providing poorer growth suppression in broth and forming smaller and fainter plaques at 37 °C vs. 30 °C. We isolated 65 mutants of phage K that had improved plaquing characteristics at 37 °C when compared to the parental phage. In all 65 mutants, this phenotype was attributable to loss-of-function (LoF) mutations in gp102, which encodes a protein of unknown function that has homologs only among the Herelleviridae (SPO1-like myophages infecting gram-positive bacteria). Additional experiments with representative mutants consistently showed that the temperature-sensitive plaque phenotype was specific to USA300 MRSA strains and that Gp102 disruption was correlated with improved suppression of bacterial growth in broth and improved antibacterial activity in a mouse model of upper respiratory tract infection. The same genotype and in vitro phenotypes could be replicated in close relatives of phage K. Gp102 disruption did not have a detectable effect on adsorption but did delay cell culture lysis relative to wild-type under permissive infection conditions, suggesting that gp102 conservation might be maintained by selective pressure for more rapid replication. Expression of gp102 on a plasmid was toxic to both an MSSA and a USA300 MRSA strain. Molecular modeling predicts a protein with two helix-turn-helix domains that displays some similarity to DNA-binding proteins such as transcription factors. While its function remains unclear, gp102 is a conserved gene that is important to the infection process of Kayvirus phages, and it appears that the manner in which USA300 strains defend against them at 37 °C can be overcome by gp102 LoF mutations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phage–Host Interactions: From Communities to Single Particles)

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Open AccessArticle

Dual-RNAseq Analysis Unravels Virus-Host Interactions of MetSV and Methanosarcina mazei

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Viruses 2022, 14(11), 2585; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14112585 - 21 Nov 2022

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Abstract

Methanosarcina spherical virus (MetSV), infecting Methanosarcina species, encodes 22 genes, but their role in the infection process in combination with host genes has remained unknown. To study the infection process in detail, infected and uninfected M. mazei cultures were compared using dual-RNAseq, qRT-PCRs, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The transcriptome analysis strongly indicates a combined role of virus and host genes in replication, virus assembly, and lysis. Thereby, 285 host and virus genes were significantly regulated. Within these 285 regulated genes, a network of the viral polymerase, MetSVORF6, MetSVORF5, MetSVORF2, and the host genes encoding NrdD, NrdG, a CDC48 family protein, and a SSB protein with a role in viral replication was postulated. Ultrastructural analysis at 180 min p.i. revealed many infected cells with virus particles randomly scattered throughout the cytoplasm or attached at the cell surface, and membrane fragments indicating cell lysis. Dual-RNAseq and qRT-PCR analyses suggested a multifactorial lysis reaction in potential connection to the regulation of a cysteine proteinase, a pirin-like protein and a HicB-solo protein. Our study’s results led to the first preliminary infection model of MetSV infecting M. mazei, summarizing the key infection steps as follows: replication, assembly, and host cell lysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phage–Host Interactions: From Communities to Single Particles)

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Open AccessArticle

Influence of Staphylococcus aureus Strain Background on Sa3int Phage Life Cycle Switches

Shilpa Elizabeth George

Taeok Bae

Kay Nieselt

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Christiane Wolz

Viruses 2022, 14(11), 2471; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14112471 - 08 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2189

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus asymptomatically colonizes the nasal cavity of mammals, but it is also a leading cause of life-threatening infections. Most human nasal isolates carry Sa3 phages, which integrate into the bacterial hlb gene encoding a sphingomyelinase. The virulence factor-encoding genes carried by the Sa3-phages are highly human-specific, and most animal strains are Sa3 negative. Thus, both insertion and excision of the prophage could potentially confer a fitness advantage to S. aureus. Here, we analyzed the phage life cycle of two Sa3 phages, Φ13 and ΦN315, in different phage-cured S. aureus strains. Based on phage transfer experiments, strains could be classified into low (8325-4, SH1000, and USA300c) and high (MW2c and Newman-c) transfer strains. High-transfer strains promoted the replication of phages, whereas phage adsorption, integration, excision, or recA transcription was not significantly different between strains. RNASeq analyses of replication-deficient lysogens revealed no strain-specific differences in the CI/Mor regulatory switch. However, lytic genes were significantly upregulated in the high transfer strain MW2c Φ13 compared to strain 8325-4 Φ13. By transcriptional start site prediction, new promoter regions within the lytic modules were identified, which are likely targeted by specific host factors. Such host-phage interaction probably accounts for the strain-specific differences in phage replication and transfer frequency. Thus, the genetic makeup of the host strains may determine the rate of phage mobilization, a feature that might impact the speed at which certain strains can achieve host adaptation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phage–Host Interactions: From Communities to Single Particles)

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Review

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Open AccessReview

The Life Cycle Transitions of Temperate Phages: Regulating Factors and Potential Ecological Implications

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Viruses 2022, 14(9), 1904; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14091904 - 28 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1873

Abstract

Phages are viruses that infect bacteria. They affect various microbe-mediated processes that drive biogeochemical cycling on a global scale. Their influence depends on whether the infection is lysogenic or lytic. Temperate phages have the potential to execute both infection types and thus frequently switch their infection modes in nature, potentially causing substantial impacts on the host-phage community and relevant biogeochemical cycling. Understanding the regulating factors and outcomes of temperate phage life cycle transition is thus fundamental for evaluating their ecological impacts. This review thus systematically summarizes the effects of various factors affecting temperate phage life cycle decisions in both culturable phage-host systems and natural environments. The review further elucidates the ecological implications of the life cycle transition of temperate phages with an emphasis on phage/host fitness, host-phage dynamics, microbe diversity and evolution, and biogeochemical cycles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phage–Host Interactions: From Communities to Single Particles)

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