A ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of a human gut symbiont

DNA transfer is ubiquitous in the human gut microbiota, especially among species of the order Bacteroidales. In silico analyses have revealed hundreds of mobile genetic elements shared between these species, yet little is known about the phenotypes they encode, their effects on fitness, or pleiotropic consequences for the recipient's genome. In this work, we show that acquisition of a ubiquitous integrative conjugative element (ICE) encoding a type VI secretion system (T6SS) shuts down the native T6SS of <i>Bacteroides fragilis</i>. Despite inactivating this T6SS, ICE acquisition increases the fitness of the <i>B. fragilis</i> transconjugant over its progenitor by arming it with the new T6SS. DNA transfer causes the strain to change allegiances so that it no longer targets ecosystem members with the same element yet is armed for communal defense.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science
Published
2024-10-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj9504
Citations
20
Primary Topic
Gut microbiota and health
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.68

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article

A ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of a human gut symbiont

Leonor García-Bayona, Andrea Q. Holst, Anitha Sundararajan, Madeline L. Sheahan et al.
20 citations
Science
Gut microbiota and health
4.68
article

A ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of a human gut symbiont

Leonor García-Bayona, Andrea Q. Holst, Anitha Sundararajan, Madeline L. Sheahan, Laurie E. Comstock, Maria Chatzidaki‐Livanis, Blanca Barquera, Rita C. Smith, Michael J. Coyne, K. Flores
article en
20 citations

Abstract

DNA transfer is ubiquitous in the human gut microbiota, especially among species of the order Bacteroidales. In silico analyses have revealed hundreds of mobile genetic elements shared between these species, yet little is known about the phenotypes they encode, their effects on fitness, or pleiotropic consequences for the recipient's genome. In this work, we show that acquisition of a ubiquitous integrative conjugative element (ICE) encoding a type VI secretion system (T6SS) shuts down the native T6SS of <i>Bacteroides fragilis</i>. Despite inactivating this T6SS, ICE acquisition increases the fitness of the <i>B. fragilis</i> transconjugant over its progenitor by arming it with the new T6SS. DNA transfer causes the strain to change allegiances so that it no longer targets ecosystem members with the same element yet is armed for communal defense.

ScienceVol. 386(6720)
Brigham and Women's Hospital (US), Harvard University (US), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (US), University of Chicago (US), Technical University of Denmark (DK)
University of Chicago, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Gut microbiota and health
4.68
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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