{"title":"Insight into the environmental cues modulating the expression of bacterial toxin-antitoxin systems.","authors":"Emeline Ostyn, Yoann Augagneur, Marie-Laure Pinel-Marie","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuaf007","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bacteria require sophisticated sensing mechanisms to adjust their metabolism in response to stressful conditions and survive in hostile environments. Among them, toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems play a crucial role in bacterial adaptation to environmental challenges. TA systems are considered as stress-responsive elements, consisting of both toxin and antitoxin genes, typically organized in operons or encoded on complementary DNA strands. A decrease in the antitoxin-toxin ratio, often triggered by specific stress conditions, leads to toxin excess, disrupting essential cellular processes and inhibiting bacterial growth. These systems are categorized into eight types based on the nature of the antitoxin (RNA or protein) and the mode of action of toxin inhibition. While the well-established biological roles of TA systems include phage inhibition and the maintenance of genetic elements, the environmental cues regulating their expression remain insufficiently documented. In this review, we highlight the diversity and complexity of the environmental cues influencing TA systems expression. A comprehensive understanding of how these genetic modules are regulated could provide deeper insights into their functions and support the development of innovative antimicrobial strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11951105/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"FEMS microbiology reviews","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/femsre/fuaf007","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Bacteria require sophisticated sensing mechanisms to adjust their metabolism in response to stressful conditions and survive in hostile environments. Among them, toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems play a crucial role in bacterial adaptation to environmental challenges. TA systems are considered as stress-responsive elements, consisting of both toxin and antitoxin genes, typically organized in operons or encoded on complementary DNA strands. A decrease in the antitoxin-toxin ratio, often triggered by specific stress conditions, leads to toxin excess, disrupting essential cellular processes and inhibiting bacterial growth. These systems are categorized into eight types based on the nature of the antitoxin (RNA or protein) and the mode of action of toxin inhibition. While the well-established biological roles of TA systems include phage inhibition and the maintenance of genetic elements, the environmental cues regulating their expression remain insufficiently documented. In this review, we highlight the diversity and complexity of the environmental cues influencing TA systems expression. A comprehensive understanding of how these genetic modules are regulated could provide deeper insights into their functions and support the development of innovative antimicrobial strategies.
期刊介绍:
Title: FEMS Microbiology Reviews
Journal Focus:
Publishes reviews covering all aspects of microbiology not recently surveyed
Reviews topics of current interest
Provides comprehensive, critical, and authoritative coverage
Offers new perspectives and critical, detailed discussions of significant trends
May contain speculative and selective elements
Aimed at both specialists and general readers
Reviews should be framed within the context of general microbiology and biology
Submission Criteria:
Manuscripts should not be unevaluated compilations of literature
Lectures delivered at symposia must review the related field to be acceptable