Yi Wenjing, Zhu Ning, Peng Zhihan, Chu Xiao, Sun Haotian, Song Lei, Guo Zhimin, Pain Arnab, Luo Zhaoqing, Guan Qingtian
Bioinformatics Laboratory, Infectious Diseases and Pathogen Biology Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Pathogen Biology Center, State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Commun Biol. 2025 Jan 10;8(1):39. doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-07459-4.
The bacteria-phage arm race drives the evolution of diverse bacterial defenses. This study identifies and characterizes the defense hotspots in Acinetobacter baumannii using a reference-free approach. Among 4383 high-quality genomes, we found a total of 17,430 phage defense systems and with 54.54% concentrated in 21 hotspots. These hotspots exhibit distinct preferences for different defense systems, and co-occurrence patterns suggest synergistic interactions. Additionally, the mobile genetic elements are abundant around these hotspots, likely facilitating horizontal transfer and evolution of defense systems. The number of hotspots increases in species phylogenetically closer to Acinetobacter baumannii, but the number of defense systems per hotspot varies due to particular selective pressures. These findings provide critical insights into the genetic organization of phage defense systems, contributing to a broader understanding of bacterial immunity and the evolutionary dynamics that shape Acinetobacter genomes. This knowledge lays the foundation for developing targeted interventions to combat antibiotic resistance Acinetobacter baumannii.
细菌与噬菌体的军备竞赛推动了多种细菌防御机制的进化。本研究采用无参考方法鉴定并表征了鲍曼不动杆菌中的防御热点。在4383个高质量基因组中，我们共发现了17430个噬菌体防御系统，其中54.54%集中在21个热点区域。这些热点区域对不同的防御系统表现出明显的偏好，并且共现模式表明存在协同相互作用。此外，这些热点区域周围的可移动遗传元件丰富，可能促进了防御系统的水平转移和进化。在系统发育上与鲍曼不动杆菌更接近的物种中，热点区域的数量增加，但由于特定的选择压力，每个热点区域的防御系统数量有所不同。这些发现为噬菌体防御系统的遗传组织提供了关键见解，有助于更广泛地理解细菌免疫以及塑造鲍曼不动杆菌基因组的进化动态。这些知识为开发针对性干预措施以对抗鲍曼不动杆菌的抗生素耐药性奠定了基础。
