We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Aggregation/dispersion transitions of T4 phage triggered by environmental ion availability.
- Authors
Szermer-Olearnik, Bożena; Drab, Marek; Mąkosa, Mateusz; Zembala, Maria; Barbasz, Jakub; Dąbrowska, Krystyna; Boratyński, Janusz
- Abstract
Background: Bacteriophage survives in at least two extremes of ionic environments: bacterial host (high ionic-cytosol) and that of soil (low ionic-environmental water). The impact of ionic composition in the micro- and macro-environments has not so far been addressed in phage biology. Results: Here, we discovered a novel mechanism of aggregation/disaggregation transitions by phage virions. When normal sodium levels in phage media (150 mM) were lowered to 10 mM, advanced imaging by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering all revealed formation of viral packages, each containing 20-100 virions. When ionic strength was returned from low to high, the aggregated state of phage reversed to a dispersed state, and the change in ionic strength did not substantially affect infectivity of the phage. By providing the direct evidence, that lowering of the sodium ion below the threshold of 20 mM causes rapid aggregation of phage while returning Na+ concentration to the values above this threshold causes dispersion of phage, we identified a biophysical mechanism of phage aggregation. Conclusions: Our results implicate operation of group behavior in phage and suggest a new kind of quorum sensing among its virions that is mediated by ions. Loss of ionic strength may act as a trigger in an evolutionary mechanism to improve the survival of bacteriophage by stimulating aggregation of phage when outside a bacterial host. Reversal of phage aggregation is also a promising breakthrough in biotechnological applications, since we demonstrated here the ability to retain viable virion aggregates on standard micro-filters.
- Subjects
BACTERIOPHAGES; IONIC interactions; SCANNING electron microscopes; ATOMIC force microscopy; LIGHT scattering; QUORUM sensing
- Publication
Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 2017, Vol 15, p1
- ISSN
1477-3155
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1186/s12951-017-0266-5