Bacteriophage Moron JBD30-4 Affects type IV Pilus and Flagellar Function in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
[Thesis]
Islam, Zafrin
Maxwell, Karen
University of Toronto (Canada)
2019
69
M.Sc.
University of Toronto (Canada)
2019
Bacteriophages can influence the virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen causing significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals. Morons, specific prophage genes not required for the phage life cycle, provide fitness advantages to bacteria under specific environmental conditions. JBD30-4 is a phage moron that inhibits P. aeruginosa twitching and swimming motility while remaining susceptible to phage infection. An interaction detected using the bacterial adenylate cyclase two-hybrid system suggests that JBD30-4 mediates this phenotype through an interaction with the type IV pilus response regulator PilH. Biochemical characterization of JBD30-4 revealed that the N-terminus of the protein is critical for function. Downregulation of flagella and type IV pili upon expression of JBD30-4 from a prophage, leading to a decrease in motility, may enable bacterial evasion from the host immune system during P. aeruginosa infection, promoting survival of the bacteria and the prophage genome contained within it.