Ferreira Rosana Barreto Rocha, Antunes Luis Caetano Martha, Sal-Man Neta
Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, 1200 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, United States.
The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
ISME J. 2025 Jan 2;19(1). doi: 10.1093/ismejo/wraf104.
For over a century, bacterial infections have been studied through the lens of the one-microbe, one-disease paradigm. However, it is now clear that multi-pathogen infections are common, and many infectious diseases are inherently polymicrobial. These complex infections can involve a variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, with polyviral and viral-bacterial interactions being the most extensively studied. In this review, we focus on polybacterial infections, providing an in-depth analysis of the diverse strategies bacteria employ to thrive in co-infection scenarios. We examine the mechanisms of bacterial competition, competition avoidance through spatial or temporal separation, and cooperation. Given the association of polymicrobial infections with more severe clinical outcomes and heightened antibiotic tolerance, we also explore novel therapeutic targets to treat these increasingly common and complex infections. Although our review summarizes current knowledge, the vast scope of this phenomenon suggests that many more mechanisms remain undiscovered and warrant further investigation.
一个多世纪以来，人们一直通过单一微生物、单一疾病范式来研究细菌感染。然而，现在很清楚的是，多病原体感染很常见，而且许多传染病本质上就是多微生物的。这些复杂感染可能涉及多种病原体，包括病毒、细菌、真菌和寄生虫，其中多病毒以及病毒与细菌的相互作用研究得最为广泛。在这篇综述中，我们聚焦于多细菌感染，深入分析细菌在共感染情况下得以生存所采用的各种策略。我们研究细菌竞争的机制、通过空间或时间分离来避免竞争以及合作。鉴于多微生物感染与更严重的临床结果和更高的抗生素耐受性相关联，我们还探索治疗这些日益常见且复杂感染的新治疗靶点。尽管我们的综述总结了当前的知识，但这种现象的广泛范围表明仍有许多机制未被发现，值得进一步研究。
