AI Article Synopsis
- PICIs (phage-inducible chromosomal islands) are mobile genetic elements that enhance horizontal gene transfer, host adaptation, and virulence in bacteria, particularly in Staphylococcus aureus.
- They act as molecular parasites, hijacking certain temperate phages to spread themselves while simultaneously disrupting the phages' reproduction.
- The review focuses on how PICIs manipulate the phage life cycle to benefit themselves, and it explores their significance in bacterial and viral evolution.
Article Abstract
The phage-inducible chromosomal islands (PICIs) are a family of highly mobile genetic elements that contribute substantively to horizontal gene transfer, host adaptation, and virulence. Initially identified in Staphylococcus aureus, these elements are now thought to occur widely in gram-positive bacteria. They are molecular parasites that exploit certain temperate phages as helpers, using a variety of elegant strategies to manipulate the phage life cycle and promote their own spread, both intra- and intergenerically. At the same time, these PICI-encoded mechanisms severely interfere with helper phage reproduction, thereby enhancing survival of the bacterial population. In this review we discuss the genetics and the life cycle of these elements, with special emphasis on how they interact and interfere with the helper phage machinery for their own benefit. We also analyze the role that these elements play in driving bacterial and viral evolution.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-virology-031413-085446 | DOI Listing |
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