456: Invader Induces Increased Immensity

This episode: A virus of archaea stops cells from dividing, so
they just keep getting bigger and releasing more viruses!


Download Episode (6.9 MB, 10.1 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces caelestis


 



Takeaways




Viruses affect their hosts many different ways: instant
hostile takeover of cellular machinery, lurking unseen in
the genome for generations, inducing reduced cell division
or excessive cell division, and more. Archaeal viruses are
relatively unknown in their genetic abilities and
lifestyles, but we do know that they tend not to destroy
their hosts through explosive viral reproduction, and that
some archaea have eukaryote-like cell cycle phases.


 


In this study, some viruses infecting a thermophilic
archaeon interrupt its cycle in the growth phase, so hosts
expand in size up to around 17 times normal, continuously
releasing new viruses over time. Eventually some archaea in
the population gain resistance to the viruses via their
CRISPR/Cas systems, and normal-sized cells dominate the
population again.



 
Journal Paper:
Liu J, Cvirkaite-Krupovic V, Baquero DP, Yang Y, Zhang Q, Shen
Y, Krupovic M. 2021. Virus-induced cell gigantism and
asymmetric cell division in archaea. Proc Natl Acad Sci
118:e2022578118.



Other interesting stories:



Chocolate is a fermented food




 


Email questions or comments to bacteriofiles at gmail dot
com. Thanks for listening!


Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS.
Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show
at Twitter or Facebook.