Data from: Prophage as a genetic reservoir: Promoting diversity and driving innovation in the host community

Sequencing of bacterial genomes has revealed an abundance of prophage sequences in many bacterial species. Since these sequences are accessible, through recombination, to infecting phages, bacteria carry an arsenal of genetic material that can be used by these viruses. We develop a mathematical model to isolate the effects of this phenomenon on the coevolution of temperate phage and bacteria. The model predicts that prophage sequences may play a key role in maintaining the phage population in situations that would otherwise favour host cell resistance. In addition, prophage recombination facilitates the existence of multiple phage types, thus promoting diverse co-existence in the phage-host ecosystem. Finally, because the host carries an archive of previous phage strategies, prophage recombination can drive waves of innovation in the host cell population.细菌基因组测序研究已在诸多细菌物种中发现了大量原噬菌体(prophage)序列。由于这类序列可通过重组被侵染性噬菌体利用，细菌由此携带着可供这些病毒取用的遗传物质储备库。本研究构建了数学模型，以解析该现象对温和噬菌体(temperate phage)与细菌协同进化的具体影响。模型预测，在原本会倾向于宿主细胞抗性的情境中，原噬菌体序列可能在维持噬菌体种群数量方面发挥关键作用。此外，原噬菌体重组可促进多种噬菌体类型的存续，进而推动噬菌体-宿主生态系统的多元共存。最后，由于宿主留存有过往噬菌体侵染策略的存档库，原噬菌体重组能够驱动宿主细胞群体产生一波又一波的创新性演化。