Brian Ho’s group recently published a paper in PLOS Journal on 18th July 2024.
Interbacterial competition plays an important role in the dynamics of microbial communities, however the impact of such competition on host defenses is less clear. In this work, we use a zebrafish model to reductively investigate the host response to distinct forms of bacterial antagonism in well-defined bacterial communities. We looked at bacterial killing mediated by the type VI secretion system (T6SS) and observed that this form of bacterial antagonism resulted in prolonged inflammatory responses and an increase in host death, independent of any specific effector or bacterial species. By contrast, bacterial killing mediated by colicins, despite being significantly more efficient in eliminating sensitive bacteria, induced minimal host responses, resulting in a substantially better host outcome. Altogether, these results provide insight into the roles of different antibacterial systems that pathogens and commensals use inside their host.
Full paper can be accessed here.
