Impacts of type II toxin-antitoxin systems on cell physiology and environmental behavior in acetic acid bacteria
- 22 May 2021
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
- Vol. 105 (11), 4357-4367
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11357-0
Abstract
Acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are a group of Gram-negative and strictly aerobic microorganisms widely used in vinegar industry, especially the species belonging to the genera Acetobacter and Komagataeibacter. The environments inhabited by AAB during the vinegar fermentation, in particular those natural traditional bioprocesses, are complex and dynamically changed, usually accompanied by diverse microorganisms, bacteriophages, and the increasing acetic acid concentration. For this reason, how AAB survive to such harsh niches has always been an interesting research field. Previous omic analyses (e.g., genomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics) have provided abundant clues for the metabolic pathways and bioprocesses indispensable for the acid stress adaptation of AAB. Nevertheless, it is far from fully understanding what factors regulate these modular mechanisms overtly and covertly upon shifting environments. Bacterial toxin-antitoxin systems (TAS), usually consisting of a pair of genes encoding a stable toxin and an unstable antitoxin that is capable of counteracting the toxin, have been uncovered to have a variety of biological functions. Recent studies focusing on the role of TAS in Acetobacter pasteurianus suggest that TAS contribute substantially to the acid stress resistance. In this mini review, we discuss the biological functions of type II TAS in the context of AAB with regard to the acid stress resistance, persister formation and resuscitation, genome stability, and phage immunity. Key points • Type II TAS act as regulators in the acid stress resistance of AAB. • Type II TAS are implicated in the formation of acid-tolerant persister cells in AAB. • Type II TAS are potential factors responsible for phage immunity and genome stability.Keywords
Funding Information
- Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LY19C200002)
This publication has 97 references indexed in Scilit:
- Conditional Cooperativity of Toxin - Antitoxin Regulation Can Mediate Bistability between Growth and DormancyPLoS Computational Biology, 2013
- Comprehensive analysis of the HEPN superfamily: identification of novel roles in intra-genomic conflicts, defense, pathogenesis and RNA processingBiology Direct, 2013
- Toxin-Antitoxin Systems Are Important for Niche-Specific Colonization and Stress Resistance of Uropathogenic Escherichia coliPLoS Pathogens, 2012
- Genome Sequences of the High-Acetic Acid-Resistant Bacteria Gluconacetobacter europaeus LMG 18890 T and G. europaeus LMG 18494 (Reference Strains), G. europaeus 5P3, and Gluconacetobacter oboediens 174Bp2 (Isolated from Vinegar)Journal of Bacteriology, 2011
- Antitoxin MqsA helps mediate the bacterial general stress responseNature Chemical Biology, 2011
- Diversity of bacterial type II toxin–antitoxin systems: a comprehensive search and functional analysis of novel familiesNucleic Acids Research, 2011
- Escherichia coli toxin/antitoxin pair MqsR/MqsA regulate toxin CspDEnvironmental Microbiology, 2010
- Whole-genome analyses reveal genetic instability of Acetobacter pasteurianusNucleic Acids Research, 2009
- A Toxin–Antitoxin System Promotes the Maintenance of an Integrative Conjugative ElementPLoS Genetics, 2009
- Prokaryotic toxin–antitoxin stress response lociNature Reviews Microbiology, 2005