ArticleNucleic acids research2014
A widespread bacteriophage abortive infection system functions through a Type IV toxin-antitoxin mechanism.
Article in Nucleic acids research, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 179 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
179 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 305 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Overview of Type II and III Toxin-Antitoxin Systems with a Focus on Druggability.Toxins · 2018Pooled it
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- Comparative Genomics Analysis and Pathogenicity Assessment ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Bacterial immune systems.Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2026Review
- Comparative genomic analysis of clinically relevant human skin-associated fungi.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Structural and functional characterization of VapBC52 toxin-antitoxin system from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Genomic profiling ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Characterisation and In Planta Activity of Bacteriophages That Infect the Key Bacterial Species Associated With Acute Oak Decline.Microbial biotechnology · 2026Article
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- A widespread gut bacterial lineage distinguished by redox metabolism and phage defense.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Phage-antibiotic synergy restores β-lactam efficacy in MDR Klebsiella quasipneumoniae biofilms and suppresses resistance.Journal of biomedical science · 2026Article
- Diversity and evolution of archaeal immune strategies.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Revisiting lactococcal abortive infection-like antiphage systems: diversity, structures, and mechanisms.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- From CRISPR-Cas to Argonautes: Defense systems of bacteria and archaea in the hydrothermal deep subsurface.ISME communications · 2026Article
- Immunity: defense against infections essential for all living organisms.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
119 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Bacterial abortive infection (Abi) systems are 'altruistic' cell death systems that are activated by phage infection and limit viral replication, thereby providing protection to the bacterial population. Here, we have used a novel approach of screening Abi systems as a tool to identify and characterize toxin-antitoxin (TA)-acting Abi systems. We show that AbiE systems are encoded by bicistronic operons and function via a non-interacting (Type IV) bacteriostatic TA mechanism. The abiE operon was negatively autoregulated by the antitoxin, AbiEi, a member of a widespread family of putative transcriptional regulators. AbiEi has an N-terminal winged-helix-turn-helix domain that is required for repression of abiE transcription, and an uncharacterized bi-functional C-terminal domain, which is necessary for transcriptional repression and sufficient for toxin neutralization. The cognate toxin, AbiEii, is a predicted nucleotidyltransferase (NTase) and member of the DNA polymerase β family. AbiEii specifically bound GTP, and mutations in conserved NTase motifs (I-III) and a newly identified motif (IV), abolished GTP binding and subsequent toxicity. The AbiE systems can provide phage resistance and enable stabilization of mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids. Our study reveals molecular insights into the regulation and function of the widespread bi-functional AbiE Abi-TA systems and the biochemical properties of both toxin and antitoxin proteins.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.