bioRxiv Science⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.03.16.712183

Vibrio parahaemolyticus quorum sensing controls phage VP882 transmission

Sargen, M. R.·Bassler, B. L.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Quorum sensing is a cell-to-cell communication process bacteria use to orchestrate collective behaviors. Quorum sensing involves the production, release, and detection of extracellular signal molecules called autoinducers. Some temperate phages can monitor bacterial autoinducers enabling them to track the abundance of potential host cells in the vicinity. Quorum-sensing-responsive phages can preferentially launch the transition from lysogeny to lytic replication at high cell density, presumably maximizing transmission. Once the phage lytic program is enacted, if nearby host cells are already lysogens, infections initiated by released virions could be nonproductive due to homoimmunity or superinfection exclusion mechanisms, posing a conundrum for temperate phages, including those that surveil quorum-sensing autoinducers. Here, we define host and phage components that influence transmission of the first discovered quorum-sensing-responsive phage, phage VP882, in populations of its host, Vibrio parahaemolyticus. We show that phage VP882 uses the K-antigen of serotype O3:K6 as its receptor. We demonstrate that host cells can prevent phage access to the O3:K6 K-antigen via quorum-sensing-control of the export of polysaccharides that shield the K-antigen from the phage at high cell density. We discover that phage VP882 can superinfect and superlysogenize V. parahaemolyticus, overcoming the challenge of detecting whether or not potential hosts are lysogens. Following superlysogenization, recombination of the resident and newly infecting phage genomes can occur possibly promoting phage VP882 genome diversification. ImportanceA longstanding mystery is how temperate phages optimally time the launch of their lytic cascades to maximize spread. Quorum-sensing-responsive phages can preferentially execute their lytic replication programs at high host cell density, which in principle should foster transmission. However, if nearby host cells are already lysogens, infections initiated by released virions could be nonproductive due to homoimmunity or superinfection exclusion. We define host and phage components influencing transmission of the quorum-sensing-responsive phage VP882 in Vibrio parahaemolyticus populations. Phage VP882 uses the O3:K6 K-antigen as its receptor. Host cells prevent phage infection via quorum-sensing-controlled export of polysaccharides that shield the K-antigen at high cell density. We discover that phage VP882 can superinfect and superlysogenize V. parahaemolyticus, overcoming the challenge of detecting whether or not potential hosts are lysogens. These findings reveal how phages can capitalize on interception of host quorum-sensing cues to maximize their reproductive success.

Source connections

Explore related subjects

microbiologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Sargen, M. R., Bassler, B. L.. 2026-03-16. Vibrio parahaemolyticus quorum sensing controls phage VP882 transmission. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.16.712183

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Matrix-controlled emergence of biofilm architecture shapes antimicrobial survival

Biofilms are structured microbial communities whose extracellular matrix is widely regarded as a basis of their protection against antimicrobial compounds. Yet how matrix production by individual bacteria gives rise to collective architecture and antimicrobial protection remains poorly understood. Here, we systematically varied expression of the master biofilm regulator csgD in Salmonella enterica and found that increasing matrix production reorganizes biofilms from dense, isotropic packings into sparse, nematically aligned communities by altering cell-cell interactions. By combining experimentally measured biofilm architectures with reaction-diffusion modeling, we show that these structural changes produce distinct patterns of antimicrobial killing, ranging from preferential killing near the liquid-biofilm interface to more uniform killing throughout the community. Consequently, increasing matrix production unexpectedly reduces antimicrobial survival by shifting the biofilm into different transport regimes, while strain-specific physiological differences further modulate antimicrobial depletion. Rather than acting as a passive barrier, EPS therefore shapes antimicrobial susceptibility by reorganizing biofilm architecture and its transport properties. EPS thus provides a physical link between molecular regulation, collective architecture and antimicrobial survival, providing a quantitative framework for understanding how cellular matrix production generates emergent biofilm function.

microbiology↗
bioRxiv2026

Mapping virulence-associated protein interaction networks reveals regulators of thermotolerance in Cryptococcus neoformans

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) influence critical biological processes in pathogenic microorganisms, such as the human fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans. Fungal thermotolerance and stress response pathways are key virulence determinants that directly impact pathogen adaptation and survival and the infection process. To establish a comprehensive baseline of PPIs in C. neoformans and explore these interactions to infer functional roles for uncharacterized proteins, we applied size exclusion chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to the secreted and cellular proteomes of the fungi. As a result, 216 and 1699 unique proteins were identified across 24 secretome and proteome fractions, respectively. The predicted secretome networks included expected proteins associated with vesicles and virulence, indicating a role in extracellular defense. Whereas the cryptococcal proteome highlighted interactions among proteins with defined roles in fungal virulence for protein stability and thermotolerance, including two previously uncharacterized proteins, CNAG_00287 and CNAG_05199, putatively involved in complex formation with heat-shock proteins (HSP). Based on sequence and structure homology, we propose that CNAG_00287 is a tetratricopeptide repeat-containing co-chaperone that modulates Hsp 70 activity and CNAG_05199 functions as a Hsp70. We validated the thermotolerance role of CNAG_00287 in heat-related stress, as its absence significantly impaired fungal growth in nutrient-limited media at 37 {degrees}C. Together, this work resolves virulence-associated PPIs within C. neoformans and reveals new molecular regulators of thermotolerance that underpin fungal pathogenicity.

microbiology↗
bioRxiv2026

Environmental filtering and host identity collectively shape root-associated microbiomes of Ericaceae and ectomycorrhizal plants in fumarole fields

Background Symbiosis with microbes is a key strategy that has enabled plants to colonize extreme environments. Since the benefits conferred by root-associated microbes depend on both environmental conditions and host-microbe combinations, plant adaptation to harsh environments is closely linked to the assembly of root microbial communities. Understanding how environmental and host filtering jointly shape these communities is therefore fundamental to elucidating the mechanisms underlying plant adaptation to extreme environments. Results In this study, we investigated the differentiation of root-associated prokaryotic and fungal communities and individual operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across two contrasting habitats surrounding fumaroles, solfatara-field and forest-edge habitats, and six dominant Ericaceae and ectomycorrhizal plant taxa. Prokaryotic and fungal OTUs rarely exhibited strong preferences for both habitat and host identity. Instead, many of prokaryotic and fungal OTUs specialized to one of these niches, collectively generating root microbial communities differentiated by both factors. Nonetheless, striking specializations in habitat and host niches were observed in the fungal family Hyaloscyphaceae (Helotiales). To gain insight into the evolutionary basis of microbial specialization, we examined phylogenetic signals in preference phenotypes. The resulting weak phylogenetic signals in these preference phenotypes further suggest that this fungal clade has undergone substantial ecological divergence. Conclusion Overall, our findings indicate that root-associated microbial communities in extreme environments are assembled through the accumulation of microbial taxa specialized to either habitat or host, and that strong ecological specialization in fungi can arise with little phylogenetic constraint.

microbiology↗