Bacteriocin-like peptides encoded by a horizontally acquired island mediate Neisseria gonorrhoeae autolysis.

IF 9.8 1区 生物学 Q1 Agricultural and Biological Sciences
PLoS Biology Pub Date : 2025-02-05 eCollection Date: 2025-02-01 DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.3003001
Katy Poncin, Samantha A McKeand, Hayley Lavender, Kacper Kurzyp, Odile B Harrison, Annabell Roberti, Charlotte Melia, Errin Johnson, Martin C J Maiden, David R Greaves, Rachel Exley, Christoph M Tang
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a human-specific pathogen that causes the important sexually transmitted infection, gonorrhoea, an inflammatory condition of the genitourinary tract. The bacterium is closely related to the meningococcus, a leading cause of bacterial meningitis. Both these invasive bacterial species undergo autolysis when in the stationary phase of growth. Autolysis is a form of programmed cell death (PCD) which is part of the life cycle of remarkably few bacteria and poses an evolutionary conundrum as altruistic death provides no obvious benefit for single-celled organisms. Here, we searched for genes present in these 2 invasive species but not in other members of the Neisseria genus. We identified a ~3.4 kb horizontally acquired region, we termed the nap island, which is largely restricted to the gonococcus and meningococcus. The nap island in the gonococcus encodes 3 cationic, bacteriocin-like peptides which have no detectable antimicrobial activity. Instead, the gonococcal Neisseria autolysis peptides (Naps) promote autolytic cell death when bacteria enter the stationary phase of growth. Furthermore, strains lacking the Naps exhibit reduced autolysis in assays of PCD. Expression of Naps is likely to be phase variable, explaining how PCD could have arisen in these important human pathogens. NapC also induces lysis of human cells, so the peptides are likely to have multiple roles during colonisation and disease. The acquisition of the nap island contributed to the emergence of PCD in the gonococcus and meningococcus and potentially to the appearance of invasive disease in Neisseria spp.

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来源期刊
PLoS Biology
PLoS Biology BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY-BIOLOGY
CiteScore
15.40
自引率
2.00%
发文量
359
审稿时长
3-8 weeks
期刊介绍: PLOS Biology is the flagship journal of the Public Library of Science (PLOS) and focuses on publishing groundbreaking and relevant research in all areas of biological science. The journal features works at various scales, ranging from molecules to ecosystems, and also encourages interdisciplinary studies. PLOS Biology publishes articles that demonstrate exceptional significance, originality, and relevance, with a high standard of scientific rigor in methodology, reporting, and conclusions. The journal aims to advance science and serve the research community by transforming research communication to align with the research process. It offers evolving article types and policies that empower authors to share the complete story behind their scientific findings with a diverse global audience of researchers, educators, policymakers, patient advocacy groups, and the general public. PLOS Biology, along with other PLOS journals, is widely indexed by major services such as Crossref, Dimensions, DOAJ, Google Scholar, PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, and Web of Science. Additionally, PLOS Biology is indexed by various other services including AGRICOLA, Biological Abstracts, BIOSYS Previews, CABI CAB Abstracts, CABI Global Health, CAPES, CAS, CNKI, Embase, Journal Guide, MEDLINE, and Zoological Record, ensuring that the research content is easily accessible and discoverable by a wide range of audiences.
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