前噬菌体对细菌毒力的影响

Role of prophages in bacterial virulence

前噬菌体是溶原性噬菌体整合在细菌染色体上的DNA,它们在细菌基因组中广泛存在,在病原菌中更是频繁存在,且与细菌的毒力密切相关。本文从前噬菌体增强细菌的黏附性、编码细菌毒素和调控毒素的产生与释放、协助细菌逃避宿主防御、参与细菌生物被膜的形成和降低细菌的毒力方面论述了前噬菌体对细菌毒力的影响,以增加人们对噬菌体的了解,并为研究细菌的毒力提供参考,进而为人们制定从噬菌体的角度来消除病原菌的方针和策略提供依据。

Bacteriophages, or simply phages, are viruses infecting bacteria. The lysogenic phage DNA integrates by recombination to the bacterial host chromosome and becomes a prophage, and the host becomes a lysogen. Nearly half of the sequenced bacteria are lysogens. Prophages are more frequent in pathogenic bacteria. A number of studies have demonstrated that prophages are associated with the bacterial virulence. Here, we review the role of prophages in enhancing bacterial adhesion to animal cells, encoding bacterial toxins, modulating production and release of toxins, promoting bacterial escape from host immune pathways, affecting bacterial biofilm formation, and decreasing the bacterial virulence, so as to enrich the knowledge of bacteriophages and provide valuable reference for studying bacterial virulence. Increased knowledge on how prophages play roles in bacterial virulence may provide theoretical basis for novel strategies to eliminate bacterial pathogens by controlling phages.