Decoding communication between mobile genetic elements

Communication between organisms is one of the most sophisticated forms of social interactions. It has been recently discovered that bacterial viruses (phages) show multiple social attributes including the ability to communicate extracellularly with their progenies through a peptide-based system called arbitrium. This system is utilized by phages to guide life-cycle decisions, such as the transitions between their quiescence and virulence states. It has subsequently become clear that this system is not exclusive to phages but is also present in other mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and that its underlying design and function has diversified considerably. Despite the wide-ranging impact of these discoveries, the molecular basis of these new systems of communication, and their function in different MGEs, remain to be deciphered. More importantly, although it has been proposed that phages only communicate with their progeny, our preliminary results indicate that the arbitrium system can be used by phages and other elements to communicate with unrelated MGEs, sometimes present in different bacterial species. However, the prevalence and ecological role of this unprecedented inter-MGE communication is unclear. In the TalkingPhages project, we’ll explore all these questions and establish the molecular basis used by arbitrium systems to shape MGE diversity, interactions amongst MGEs and bacterial ecology and evolution. Our team combines expertise in MGEs and communication systems using tools from genetics (Penadés), biochemistry (Marina) and eco-evolutionary dynamics (Eldar). By exposing the multi-layered network of communications between MGEs, which is amenable for exploration on multiple levels of resolution, this project would set a milestone in understanding the complex eco-evolutionary dynamics of MGEs and the relevance of their sociality, with potential impact on our understanding of virulence and resistance in clinically and agriculturally important bacterial species.