研究人员发现，细菌在哺乳动物的肠道中利用相分离来提高适应性。结果表明，广泛和高度保守的转录终止因子Rho的内在无序区（IDR）对于人类共生菌Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron在体内和体外的相分离是必要和充分的。相分离以IDR依赖的方式增加Rho的转录终止。此外，IDR对肠道内的基因调节至关重要。这些研究结果表明，相分离对宿主-共生菌的相互作用至关重要，并与新的临床应用有关。
据悉，肠道微生物群的治疗性操控对人类健康具有巨大的潜力。因此，细菌用于在肠道内定居的机制为临床干预提供了宝贵的靶点。
附：英文原文
Title: Bacteria require phase separation for fitness in the mammalian gut
Author: Emilia Krypotou, Guy E. TownsendII, Xiaohui Gao, Shoichi Tachiyama, Jun Liu, Nick D. Pokorzynski, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman
Issue&Volume: 2023-03-17
Abstract: Therapeutic manipulation of the gut microbiota holds great potential for human health. The mechanisms bacteria use to colonize the gut therefore present valuable targets for clinical intervention. We now report that bacteria use phase separation to enhance fitness in the mammalian gut. We establish that the intrinsically disordered region (IDR) of the broadly and highly conserved transcription termination factor Rho is necessary and sufficient for phase separation in vivo and in vitro in the human commensal Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. Phase separation increases transcription termination by Rho in an IDR-dependent manner. Moreover, the IDR is critical for gene regulation in the gut. Our findings expose phase separation as vital for host-commensal bacteria interactions and relevant for novel clinical applications.
DOI: abn7229
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn7229