School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah 257S 1400E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Centre for Life's Origins and Evolution, Department of Genetics, Evolution, and Environment, University College London, London, UK.
Trends Microbiol. 2024 Nov;32(11):1084-1095. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2024.04.001. Epub 2024 Jun 18.
Phage tail-like bacteriocins (tailocins) are protein complexes produced by bacteria with the potential to kill their neighbors. Widespread throughout Gram-negative bacteria, tailocins exhibit extreme specificity in their targets, largely killing closely related strains. Despite their presence in diverse bacteria, the impact of these competitive weapons on the surrounding microbiota is largely unknown. Recent studies revealed the rapid evolution and genetic diversity of tailocins in microbial communities and suggest that there are constraints on the evolution of specificity and resistance. Given the precision of their targeted killing and the ease of engineering new specificities, understanding the evolution and ecological impact of tailocins may enable the design of promising candidates for novel targeted antibiotics.
噬菌体尾状细菌素（tailocins）是一类由细菌产生的具有潜在杀菌能力的蛋白复合物。尾状细菌素广泛存在于革兰氏阴性菌中，对其靶标具有极高的特异性，主要杀伤亲缘关系较近的菌株。尽管这些竞争武器存在于不同的细菌中，但它们对周围微生物群落的影响在很大程度上仍是未知的。最近的研究揭示了微生物群落中尾状细菌素的快速进化和遗传多样性，并表明特异性和抗性的进化存在限制。鉴于其靶向杀伤的精确性和设计新特异性的简便性，了解尾状细菌素的进化和生态影响可能为新型靶向抗生素的设计提供有前途的候选物。
