Liu Ting-Ting, Gao Peng-Cheng, Cui Jie-Wen, Wang Wu-Bin, Zheng Fu-Ying, Li Xue-Rui, Chu Yue-Feng
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Veterinary Medicine, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Microbiol Spectr. 2025 Jun 23:e0227124. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.02271-24.
It is important to understand how the presence of pathogens could benefit the survival of their hosts during climate change. In this study, we investigated the influence of the heat-resistant temperate phage phage_SAP_1432 on its bacterial host Q1432 at different temperatures. Thermal host performance curves at a multiplicity of infection of 0.001 showed that the phage killed the bacterium efficiently from 20 to 39°C and from 47 to 50°C. However, the phage resulted in a 41.2% increase in the maximal growth rate for the host bacterium from 1.53 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.42-1.63) in the absence of phage_SAP_1432 to 2.16 (95% CI: 2.02-2.37) in its presence, along with a shift in the optimum temperature from 41.0°C to 44.1°C. In the absence of phage, the maximum survival temperature of Q1432 was 51°C, but after co-culture with phage_SAP_1432, a few bacteria survived at 55°C-80°C. Lysogenesis occurred more easily at lower temperatures; the percentage of lysogenesis increased with phage concentration, while the maximum growth rate of the host decreased. Our findings provide new evidence that heat-resistant temperate phages can benefit the survival of their bacterial host at specific temperatures, giving a new perspective on the effects of co-evolution of heat-resistant temperate phages and bacterial hosts in an era of global climate change.
Understanding pathogen-host interactions is crucial for predicting climate change impacts on microbial ecosystems. This study examined the heat-resistant temperate phage_SAP_1432 and its effects on Q1432 at various temperatures. Phage_SAP_1432 enhanced the thermal performance and survival at high temperatures of its host at a low MOI. This mutual benefit demonstrates the adaptive advantages phages provide in changing thermal environments. As global temperatures rise, such phage-host interactions may play a critical role in microbial survival and evolution. Our research highlights the potential for phages to act as allies, offering a new perspective on the co-evolution of heat-resistant temperate phages and their bacterial hosts.
了解病原体的存在如何在气候变化期间有利于其宿主的生存非常重要。在本研究中，我们调查了耐热性温和噬菌体phage_SAP_1432在不同温度下对其细菌宿主Q1432的影响。感染复数为0.001时的热宿主性能曲线表明，该噬菌体在20至39°C以及47至50°C时能有效杀死细菌。然而，该噬菌体使宿主细菌的最大生长速率从无phage_SAP_1432时的1.53（95%置信区间[CI]：1.42 - 1.63）增加了41.2%，在有噬菌体存在时达到2.16（95% CI：2.02 - 2.37），同时最适温度从41.0°C 转变为44.1°C。在没有噬菌体的情况下，Q1432的最高存活温度为51°C，但与phage_SAP_1432共培养后，一些细菌在55°C - 80°C存活。溶源化在较低温度下更容易发生；溶源化百分比随噬菌体浓度增加，而宿主的最大生长速率降低。我们的研究结果提供了新的证据，表明耐热性温和噬菌体在特定温度下可有利于其细菌宿主的生存，为全球气候变化时代耐热性温和噬菌体与细菌宿主共同进化的影响提供了新视角。
了解病原体 - 宿主相互作用对于预测气候变化对微生物生态系统的影响至关重要。本研究考察了耐热性温和噬菌体phage_SAP_1432及其在不同温度下对Q1432的影响。Phage_SAP_1432在低感染复数下增强了其宿主的热性能和高温下的存活率。这种互利关系证明了噬菌体在不断变化的热环境中提供的适应性优势。随着全球气温上升，这种噬菌体 - 宿主相互作用可能在微生物的生存和进化中起关键作用。我们的研究突出了噬菌体作为盟友的潜力，为耐热性温和噬菌体与其细菌宿主的共同进化提供了新视角。
