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The role of PemIK (PemK/PemI) type II TA system from Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical strains in lytic phage infection.

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2022-02-21

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Bleriot, Ines
Blasco, Lucia
Pacios, Olga
Fernandez-Garcia, Laura
Ambroa, Anton
Lopez, Maria
Ortiz-Cartagena, Concha
Cuenca, Felipe Fernandez
Oteo-Iglesias, Jesus
Pascual, Alvaro

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Nature Publishing Group
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Since their discovery, toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems have captivated the attention of many scientists. Recent studies have demonstrated that TA systems play a key role in phage inhibition. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the PemIK (PemK/PemI) type II TA system in phage inhibition by its intrinsic expression in clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae carrying the lncL plasmid, which harbours the carbapenemase OXA-48 and the PemK/PemI TA system. Furthermore, induced expression of the system in an IPTG-inducible plasmid in a reference strain of K. pneumoniae ATCC10031 was also studied. The results showed that induced expression of the whole TA system did not inhibit phage infection, whereas overexpression of the pemK toxin prevented early infection. To investigate the molecular mechanism involved in the PemK toxin-mediated inhibition of phage infection, assays measuring metabolic activity and viability were performed, revealing that overexpression of the PemK toxin led to dormancy of the bacteria. Thus, we demonstrate that the PemK/PemI TA system plays a role in phage infection and that the action of the free toxin induces a dormant state in the cells, resulting in inhibition of phage infections.

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Bacterial proteins
Bacteriophages
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Plasmids
Toxin-antitoxin systems

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Bacteriófagos
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Plásmidos
Proteínas bacterianas
Sistemas toxina-antitoxina

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Bleriot I, Blasco L, Pacios O, Fernández-García L, Ambroa A, López M, Ortiz-Cartagena C, et al. The role of PemIK (PemK/PemI) type II TA system from Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical strains in lytic phage infection. Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 16;12(1):4488