Bowring, J. Z. , Neamah, M. M., Donderis, J., Mir-Sanchis, I., Alite, C., Ciges-Tomas, J. R., Maiques, E., Mehmedov, I., Marina, A. and Penadés, J. R. (2017) Pirating conserved phage mechanisms promotes promiscuous staphylococcal pathogenicity island transfer. eLife, 6, e26487. (doi: 10.7554/eLife.26487) (PMID:28826473) (PMCID:PMC5779228)
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Abstract
Targeting conserved and essential processes is a successful strategy to combat enemies. Remarkably, the clinically important Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs) use this tactic to spread in nature. SaPIs reside passively in the host chromosome, under the control of the SaPI-encoded master repressor, Stl. It has been assumed that SaPI de-repression is effected by specific phage proteins that bind to Stl, initiating the SaPI cycle. Different SaPIs encode different Stl repressors, so each targets a specific phage protein for its de-repression. Broadening this narrow vision, we report here that SaPIs ensure their promiscuous transfer by targeting conserved phage mechanisms. This is accomplished because the SaPI Stl repressors have acquired different domains to interact with unrelated proteins, encoded by different phages, but in all cases performing the same conserved function. This elegant strategy allows intra- and inter-generic SaPI transfer, highlighting these elements as one of nature’s most fascinating subcellular parasites.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Penades, Prof Jose R and Bowring, Janine Zara |
| Creator Roles: | Penades, J. R.Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing Bowring, J. Z.Investigation, Writing – review and editing |
| Authors: | Bowring, J. Z., Neamah, M. M., Donderis, J., Mir-Sanchis, I., Alite, C., Ciges-Tomas, J. R., Maiques, E., Mehmedov, I., Marina, A., and Penadés, J. R. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity |
| Journal Name: | eLife |
| Publisher: | eLife Sciences Publications |
| ISSN: | 2050-084X |
| ISSN (Online): | 2050-084X |
| Published Online: | 08 August 2017 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2017 eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. |
| First Published: | First published in eLife 2017 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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