Huang Zixian, Zhang Xinqiao, Lin Shituan, Gu Jiayu, Liu Cong, Wen Mingzhang, Guo Yunxue
State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.
mLife. 2025 Aug 25;4(4):437-446. doi: 10.1002/mlf2.70031. eCollection 2025 Aug.
The filamentous prophage Pf4 is activated to produce phage virions during biofilm formation, a process crucial for maintaining biofilm architecture and enhancing pathogenicity. However, the environmental cues triggering Pf4 activation have been inadequately explored. In this study, we discovered that oxidative stress, a significant stressor encountered by pathogens in biofilms or within eukaryotic hosts, triggers the production of the filamentous phage Pf4 in MPAO1 through OxyR. Under oxidative stress, the expression of is induced, leading to increased OxyR binding to the promoter region of the Pf4 excisionase gene , thereby facilitating Pf4 prophage excision and virion production. Thus, our study elucidates a mechanism by which bacteria exploit cytotoxic oxidative stress as a potent stimulant to activate the filamentous phage Pf4 within biofilms.
丝状原噬菌体Pf4在生物膜形成过程中被激活以产生噬菌体病毒粒子，生物膜形成是维持生物膜结构和增强致病性的关键过程。然而，触发Pf4激活的环境信号尚未得到充分研究。在本研究中，我们发现氧化应激是病原体在生物膜或真核宿主内遇到的一种重要应激源，它通过OxyR触发MPAO1中丝状噬菌体Pf4的产生。在氧化应激下，诱导的表达，导致OxyR与Pf4切除酶基因的启动子区域结合增加，从而促进Pf4原噬菌体的切除和病毒粒子的产生。因此，我们的研究阐明了一种机制，即细菌利用细胞毒性氧化应激作为一种强大的刺激物来激活生物膜内的丝状噬菌体Pf4。
