These VC2 sequences, once active phages, turned into “tails,” weapons that bacteria use to puncture neighboring bacterial cells, resulting in their death. This mechanism involves a modified phage structure that lacks genetic material but can compromise the integrity of the cell by breaking cell membranes.
The study highlights a complex evolutionary arms race between bacterial species in which each species is both an aggressor and a target. Resistance to these tailchins results from mutations that affect surface sugars on bacterial cells.
The study sheds light on microbial strategies and highlights the complex dynamics that have governed bacterial competition and adaptation over centuries, the scientists write.
Source: Ferra
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