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The Great Escape: how do gene transfer agents lyse their bacterial hosts?
Gene transfer agents (GTAs) are domesticated prophages that have been co-opted by their bacterial hosts as conduits for horizontal gene transfer. For gene transfer to occur, DNA-packed GTA particles must lyse their host bacterial cell to escape. The mechanism by which host lysis occurs is not well understood. In my talk, I will tell you about a genetic screen that I performed to discover potential novel lysis genes. We
discovered a new genetic system that is essential for GTA-mediated host lysis. Most interestingly, the system shares some similarity to an anti-phage defence module. I will talk about how this system functions and how it is regulated to ensure that cell lysis is tightly controlled. Overall, our work suggests that prokaryotic immune systems can be repurposed to facilitate horizontal gene transfer.
Date:
10 March 2025, 11:00
Venue:
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QU
Venue Details:
Seminar Room 2, Room 20-138
Speaker:
Dr Emma Banks (John Innes Centre)
Organising department:
Department of Biochemistry
Organiser:
Dr Melissa Webby (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
melissa.webby@bioch.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Dr Melissa Webby (University of Oxford)
Part of:
Microbiology and Systems Biology (MSB) seminars, Department of Biochemistry
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editors:
Sarah-Jane Scard,
Jessica Barnes
