Bacteriophages articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Article
  11 October 2016 | Open Access

  Eukaryotic association module in phage WO genomes from Wolbachia

  Viruses commonly exchange genetic material with their hosts, but not with species from other domains of life. Here, the authors find that the bacteriophage WO of Wolbachiacontains eukaryotic-like genes, implicating lateral genetic transfer between eukaryotes and viruses infecting bacteria.

  • Sarah R. Bordenstein
  •  & Seth R. Bordenstein

• Article
  06 July 2015 | Open Access

  Cryo-EM structure of the bacteriophage T4 portal protein assembly at near-atomic resolution

  Tailed bacteriophages translocate the genome into and out of the capsid through a portal protein assembly located between the phage s head and tail. Here Sun et al. provide a cryo-EM structure of the bacteriophage T4 portal protein assembly, suggesting the functions and evolution of the portal structure.

  • Lei Sun
  • , Xinzheng Zhang
  •  & Michael G. Rossmann

• Article
  24 July 2014 | Open Access

  A highly abundant bacteriophage discovered in the unknown sequences of human faecal metagenomes

  Metagenomic studies of microbial communities often report DNA sequences from unidentified viruses. Here, Dutilh et al. analyse metagenomic data to reveal the complete genome of an abundant, ubiquitous virus from human faeces, and predict that the virus infects bacteria of the Bacteroides group.

  • Bas E. Dutilh
  • , Noriko Cassman
  •  & Robert A. Edwards

• Article | 17 June 2014

  Evidence for an electrostatic mechanism of force generation by the bacteriophage T4 DNA packaging motor

  Viral DNA packaging motors must generate large forces to package the viral capsid. Here, Migliori et al.provide functional and computational evidence that electrostatic interactions between subdomains of the T4 packaging motor provide the driving force for DNA packaging.

  • Amy D. Migliori
  • , Nicholas Keller
  •  & Douglas E. Smith

• Article | 13 December 2013

  Multiparametric atomic force microscopy imaging of single bacteriophages extruding from living bacteria

  Force-distance atomic force microscopy enables simultaneous recording of structure and biophysical properties at the nanoscale. Alsteens et al.combine this tool with tips that can recognise specific proteins, allowing them to image bacteriophages extruding from living bacteria.

  • David Alsteens
  • , Heykel Trabelsi
  •  & Yves F. Dufrêne

• Article | 02 July 2013

  CRISPR-Cas and restriction–modification systems are compatible and increase phage resistance

  CRISPR-Cas and restriction–modification are two distinct bacterial defence systems that protect against phage infection. Dupuis et al. demonstrate that Streptococcus thermophilusemploys both systems simultaneously to cleave invading DNA, thereby providing enhanced phage resistance.

  • Marie-Ève Dupuis
  • , Manuela Villion
  •  & Sylvain Moineau

• Article | 05 February 2013

  Strong bias in the bacterial CRISPR elements that confer immunity to phage

  Bacterial CRISPR–Cas systems provide adaptive immunity against phage by transcribing interfering RNA from phage DNA inserted into the bacterial genome. Using deep-sequencing, the authors detect a bias in the phage genome locations sampled, suggestive of selection.

  • David Paez-Espino
  • , Wesley Morovic
  •  & Jillian F. Banfield

• Article
  21 December 2010 | Open Access

  Cryptic prophages help bacteria cope with adverse environments

  Up to 20% of bacterial genomes are made up of cryptic prophages, but their function is relatively unknown. In this study, the authors demonstrate that prophages influence the response of the host cell to stress and provide a competitive growth advantage in the presence of antibiotics.

  • Xiaoxue Wang
  • , Younghoon Kim
  •  & Thomas K. Wood