Open Access
REVIEW
Prophages domesticated by bacteria promote the adaptability of bacterial cells
ZICHEN LIU1, YUNFENG DENG2, MENGZHI JI1, WENQING SUN2,*, XIANGYU FAN1,*
1 College of Biological Science and Technology, University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, China
2 Shandong Provincial Chest Hospital, Jinan, 250013, China
* Address correspondence to: Wenqing Sun, ; Xiangyu Fan,
BIOCELL 2020, 44(2), 157-166. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2020.09917
Received 29 January 2020; Accepted 14 April 2020; Issue published 27 May 2020
Abstract
Prophages are temperate phages integrated into the host bacterial genome. They play an important role in the
adaptation and the pathogenicity of bacteria, especially pathogenic bacteria. In this review, we described the distribution
of prophages in different hosts and different environments, and focused on the significance of prophages. At the singlecell level, prophages can help the host adapt to harsh external environments by directly carrying virulence genes, encoding
regulatory factors and activating lysogeny. At the population level, prophages can influence the overall evolutionary
direction and ecological function of the host bacterial community. This review will help us understand the important
role of prophages as unique organisms in individual bacteria and microbial populations.
Keywords
Cite This Article
LIU, Z., DENG, Y., JI, M., SUN, W., FAN, X. (2020). Prophages domesticated by bacteria promote the adaptability of bacterial cells.
BIOCELL, 44(2), 157–166. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2020.09917
Citations