Toxin-antitoxin systems in bacterial pathogenesis.

Toxin-Antitoxin (TA) systems are abundant in prokaryotes and play an important role in various biological processes such as plasmid maintenance, phage inhibition, stress response, biofilm formation, and dormant persister cell generation. TA loci are abundant in pathogenic intracellular micro-organisms and help in their adaptation to the harsh host environment such as nutrient deprivation, oxidation, immune response, and antimicrobials. Several studies have reported the involvement of TA loci in establishing successful infection, intracellular survival, better colonization, adaptation to host stresses, and chronic infection.