Riley Margaret A, Wertz John E
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 165 Prospect Street, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
Biochimie. 2002 May-Jun;84(5-6):357-64. doi: 10.1016/s0300-9084(02)01421-9.
The bacteriocin family is the most abundant and diverse group of bacterial defense systems. Bacteriocins range from the well-studied narrow spectrum, high molecular weight colicins produced by Escherichia coli and the short polypeptide lantibiotics of lactic acid bacteria to the relatively unknown halocins produced almost universally by the haolobacteria. The abundance and diversity of this potent arsenal of weapons is clear. Less clear is their evolutionary origins and the role they play in mediating microbial interactions. The goal of this review is to explore what we know about the evolution and ecology of the best-characterized family of bacteriocins, the colicins. We summarize current knowledge of how such extraordinary protein diversity arose and is maintained in microbial populations and what role these toxins play in mediating microbial population-level and community-level dynamics.
细菌素家族是细菌防御系统中最为丰富多样的一类。细菌素种类繁多，从已被充分研究的大肠杆菌产生的窄谱、高分子量的大肠杆菌素，到乳酸菌产生的短肽羊毛硫抗生素，再到几乎所有嗜盐菌都能产生的相对鲜为人知的嗜盐菌素。这一强大的武器库丰富多样，显而易见。但其进化起源以及在介导微生物相互作用中所起的作用却不太明晰。本综述的目的是探讨我们对特征最明确的细菌素家族——大肠杆菌素的进化和生态学的了解。我们总结了目前关于这种非凡的蛋白质多样性如何在微生物群体中产生和维持的知识，以及这些毒素在介导微生物群体水平和群落水平动态中所起的作用。
