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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Syndromic cholera diagnosis masks diverse causes of diarrhoeal disease in Burundi revealed by portable metagenomics.

BACKGROUND: Cholera outbreaks remain a major public-health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, where diagnostic capacity is limited and clinical case definitions are non-specific and re ly heavily on syndromic diagnosis. Rapid identification of Vibrio cholerae is critical, yet cholera-suspected diarrhoea can have multiple infectious causes not captured by targeted diagnostics. METHODS: We evaluated a mobile, culture-independent metagenomic sequencing workflow for on-site detection of gastrointestinal pathogens directly from faecal samples in Burundi. The offline workflow combined long-read Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing with rapid, laptop-based taxonomic and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) screening and was deployed across a health centre, a district hospital, and a refugee transit camp. The frontline and real-time results were verified using both conventional culturing and in-depth bioinformatic analyses. RESULTS: V. cholerae signals were only detected in a subset of suspected cholera cases, while many samples were dominated by alternative bacterial taxa, most frequently Escherichia coli. V. cholerae abundance correlated strongly with detection of the C holera T oxin P hage CTXφ, supporting differentiation between toxigenic signal and background exposure. AMR genes were detected across samples, providing early situational insight into resistance determinants among gastrointestinal bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: Mobile, offline metagenomic sequencing enables rapid frontline characterization of gastrointestinal disease, especially cholera-suspected, in resource-limited settings and complements existing diagnostics by improving etiological resolution and outbreak response.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Characterization of the Immune Response after Oral Cholera Vaccination (OCV) and Effects of Mycophenolate Mofetil on Priming of this Immune Response-A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is an immunosuppressive drug widely used by solid organ transplant recipients. Although it is known that MMF suppresses immune responses, its exact effects on specific vaccinations have not been investigated yet. Mucosal vaccinations are increasingly used, such as a cholera vaccination consisting of two oral immunizations (oral cholera vaccination; OCV). This study aimed to investigate the specific immunosuppressive effects of MMF use during the first dose of OCV in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in healthy volunteers. Moreover, the study aimed to characterize the immune response provoked by OCV in detail. This randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blind trial included 16 healthy volunteers, each receiving two doses of Dukoral® and an intranasal rechallenge. Outcome measures were serum antibody responses (IgA and IgG) and IgA levels in saliva. Additionally, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of participants were investigated for ex vivo cytokine production and expression of tissue-specific homing markers after OCV. There were considerable serum IgA and IgG responses after vaccination. MMF-treated volunteers still showed a significant cholera antibody response, though data suggest a potential suppression by MMF without reaching statistical significance. There was no substantial IgA response in saliva. Investigation of PBMCs from OCV-treated participants showed a Th2 skewing with increased ex vivo production of TNF, IL-2, IL-5, IL-13, and IL-22 compared to the placebo group. Taken together, this study provides a framework for future clinical pharmacology studies building on OCV as a challenge model and for further investigation of specific effects of MMF on mucosal vaccination responses.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

RND-mediated efflux couples antimicrobial resistance and hypervirulence in contemporary Vibrio cholerae.

The prevailing view in bacterial pathogenesis is that antimicrobial resistance and virulence are constrained by evolutionary trade-offs, with resistance mechanisms imposing fitness costs that attenuate pathogenic potential. Herein we document that contemporary Vibrio cholerae clinical isolates from the ongoing seventh pandemic have circumvented this paradigm by coupling multidrug resistance with hypervirulence. We examined five geographically diverse Wave 3 isolates collected between 2017 and 2019 and compared them to early pandemic strains. These contemporary isolates exhibited both broad-spectrum antimicrobial resistance and markedly enhanced colonization capacity in the infant mouse model. Phylogenetic analysis of 67 O1 El Tor genomes spanning 1960-2019 confirmed that the isolates cluster within a representative Wave 3 sublineage. We identified the VexB RND efflux pump as a mediator of this coupled phenotype. Elevated vexB expression in the contemporary isolates conferred resistance to multiple antibiotic classes, while vexB inactivation simultaneously impaired resistance and colonization. This dual function was not observed in early pandemic strains, consistent with a recent evolutionary adaptation. VexB-mediated hypervirulence occurred through multiple pathways independent of cholera toxin and toxin-coregulated pilus production levels. VexB deletion impaired bacterial adherence to intestinal epithelial cells, impaired motility, and increased susceptibility to membrane-active antimicrobials. In contrast, laboratory evolution under antibiotic pressure alone generated resistant but avirulent strains, demonstrating that complex selective forces in nature enabled the co-optimization of resistance and virulence. These findings establish VexB as a molecular link between antimicrobial resistance and hypervirulence in pandemic V. cholerae, highlighting efflux pumps as dual-function therapeutic targets whose inhibition could both restore antibiotic activity and attenuate disease.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

[Genomic characteristics of multi-drug resistant of non-O1/non-O139 Vibrio cholerae ST1565 from sepsis cases].

To analyze the genomic characteristics of multi-drug resistant of non-O1/non-O139 Vibrio cholerae ST1565 from sepsis cases. An 88 years old male patient admitted to Huashan Hospital in Shanghai on July 2, 2025, who was retrospectively analyzed. The clinical diagnosis was severe bacterial enteritis and secondary NOVC sepsis. Blood culture confirmed the presence of non-O1/non-O139 group Vibrio cholerae. The strain was a multidrug-resistant isolated of ST1565 as determined by whole-genome sequencing. The ResFinder database predicted 11 resistance genes for 6 classes of antibiotics: qnrVC5, sul2, floR, tet(59), aph(6)-Id, aph(3'')-Ib, dfrA15, dfrA31, almE, almF, and almG. Except for the quinolone qnrVC5, which was not expressed, the other resistance genes were consistent matched the phenotypic results. Additionally, 8 insertion sequences were identified: ISVch1, ISVvu4, ISVch6, ISVvu8, ISVpa3, ISVpa4, ISVsa3, and ISShfr9. Important virulence factors included 3 secreted protein toxin genes: Vibrio cholerae hemolysin, repeat toxin, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus thermostable direct hemolysin. The patient was cured after sequential treatment with meropenem, levofloxacin, and doxycycline. NOVC/ST1565 is a newly identified sequence type in China, which exhibits multidrug-resistant and hypervirulent phenotypes.

Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial↗

PubMed2026

H-NOX and NosP Regulate Flagellar Protein and Virulence Factor Production in Vibrio cholerae.

The ability of Vibrio cholerae to transition between motile and sessile forms in the environment and in the host is critical to its survival and virulence. The molecular cues, sensor proteins, and signaling pathways mediating these transitions are highly complex and often overlapping. Nevertheless, a detailed understanding of them is critical for understanding the persistence and pathogenesis of this deadly pathogen. Nitric oxide (NO) functions as an important signaling molecule in many bacteria, affecting biofilm formation, motility, and virulence, often through interaction with heme protein sensors. The genome of V. cholerae encodes two such sensors called H-NOX and NosP. Here we constructed a Δhnox/nosP mutant and employed a multi-omics methodology that combines tandem-mass-tag (TMT)-based quantitative proteomics, phosphoproteomics, and targeted metabolomics to investigate the function of these sensors. A set of 258 proteins was differentially expressed in the mutant that included many proteins involved in flagellar biosynthesis and motility as well as critical virulence factors, iron acquisition systems, and metabolic enzymes. Many of the identified genes are also part of the ferric uptake regulator (Fur) regulon and iron-dependent transcriptional repression of several Fur targets was disrupted. Phosphoproteomics analysis also revealed proteins involved in motility and virulence as differentially phosphorylated in the mutant strain. In most cases, these phosphoproteins have not been previously observed and provide a wealth of new targets for investigating mechanisms of V. cholerae signaling. Taken together, this work illustrates a role for H-NOX and NosP in promoting factors important for infection while suppressing those important for environmental survival, suggesting a function in priming the organism for infection and/or maintaining the infectious phenotype.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

CholeraSeq: a comprehensive genomic pipeline for cholera surveillance and near real-time outbreak investigation.

SUMMARY: Next Generation Sequencing is widely deployed in cholera-endemic regions, yet an end-to-end reproducible pipeline that unifies read QC, filtering, reference mapping, variant calling/annotation, recombination screening, and extraction of parsimony informative sites/variant codons, phylogenetic inference for downstream phylodynamic and epidemiological analyses have been lacking, slowing outbreak investigation and public health response. CholeraSeq is a high-throughput genomics pipeline for cholera genomic surveillance. It ingests consensus genomes, short read sequence data, draft assemblies, and scales seamlessly from local to cloud environments. To accelerate epidemiological context placement of new outbreak strains, we provide a curated ready-to-use core genome alignment compiled from public data, enabling flexible, fast, integration of new samples for outbreak investigations. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: CholeraSeq is freely available on the GitHub platform https://github.com/CERI-KRISP/CholeraSeq. CholeraSeq is implemented in Nextflow with a modular design building upon the nf-core community standards.

Cholera↗

PubMed2026

Cell-body curvature reduces stall frequency to enhance Vibrio cholerae swimming and chemotaxis through hydrogels.

The swimming motility of the bacterial pathogen Vibrio cholerae is a virulence factor that aids in breaching the mucus layer. V. cholerae has a curved cell shape, and previous work demonstrated that loss of curvature decreases infectivity. Here, we investigate the mechanism by which curvature affects single-cell motility. We compared the chemotactic performance of wild-type curved cells and straight mutants. The two exhibit similar swimming properties in liquid and viscous solutions but differ significantly in mucus-mimicking hydrogels, where curved cells demonstrate an 86% increase in chemotactic drift. Trajectory analysis indicates comparable swimming speeds, but straight mutants experience more frequent stalls, reducing total swimming time. Stalls further reduce chemotactic performance by imposing an average reorientation down the chemical gradient, regardless of cell shape. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations corroborate these results across intestinal mucus hydrogel stiffnesses and identify an optimal curvature for movement through hydrogel-like meshes, close to the pathogen's median curvature. These findings highlight cell shape's role in pathogenicity and the need to study bacterial behaviors under conditions more closely mimicking the host environment.

Vibrio cholerae↗

PubMed2025

Analysis of gene expression within individual cells reveals spatiotemporal patterns underlying Vibrio cholerae biofilm development.

Bacteria commonly exist in multicellular, surface-attached communities called biofilms. Biofilms are central to ecology, medicine, and industry. The Vibrio cholerae pathogen forms biofilms from single founder cells that, via cell division, mature into three-dimensional structures with distinct, yet reproducible, regional architectures. To define mechanisms underlying biofilm developmental transitions, we establish a single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) approach that enables accurate quantitation of spatiotemporal gene-expression patterns in biofilms at cell-scale resolution. smFISH analyses of V. cholerae biofilm regulatory and structural genes demonstrate that, as biofilms mature, overall matrix gene expression decreases, and simultaneously, a pattern emerges in which matrix gene expression becomes largely confined to peripheral biofilm cells. Both quorum sensing and c-di-GMP-signaling are required to generate the proper temporal pattern of matrix gene expression. Quorum sensing signaling is uniform across the biofilm, and thus, c-di-GMP-signaling alone sets the regional matrix gene expression pattern. The smFISH strategy provides insight into mechanisms conferring particular fates to individual biofilm cells.

Biofilms↗

PubMed2026

Actuation of CRP activating region 3 by acetylation modulates V. cholerae sugar utilization and virulence.

UNLABELLED: The cyclic AMP receptor protein or CRP is a global regulator of bacterial metabolism that activates transcription of genes required for utilization of alternative carbon sources in response to the second messenger cAMP, which is synthesized in the setting of glucose scarcity. CRP activates transcription through contact with RNA polymerase at three sites termed activating regions (ARs) 1-3. AR3 was previously reported to be functional only when CRP K52 was mutated to a neutral residue and to be essential for transcription only in the absence of AR1 and AR2. Multiple proteomic studies have reported acetylation of CRP K52. This post-translational modification is predicted to activate AR3. To probe the role of K52 acetylation (K52QAc) and AR3 at the genome level, we used ChIP-seq and RNA-seq analysis to compare WT CRP with a CRP K52Q mutant that mimics CRP K52Ac. We report that CRP K52Q binds to hundreds of new sites on the chromosome, resulting in increased abundance of known as well as previously unknown transcripts. These transcripts increase uptake and metabolism of dietary sugars such as maltose and galactose, repress acetate consumption, and augment virulence gene expression. We attribute the repression of acetate consumption to a novel small RNA, CrbZ, which is positively regulated by CRP K52Q in LB broth and by WT CRP specifically in minimal medium containing maltose. This study highlights the role of post-translational modifications in molding the CRP regulon to optimize pathogen metabolism and virulence gene expression in the human intestine in response to nutritional cues. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: As a model in the field of bacterial transcription, the structure and function of the cAMP receptor protein (CRP), a global transcription regulator, has been exhaustively investigated. These studies have established three activating regions (ARs) where CRP contacts RNA polymerase, of which only two were thought to participate in transcription activation by native CRP. Here we provide evidence that post-translational acetylation of V. cholerae CRP lysine 52 actuates AR3, enabling occupancy of hundreds of novel CRP binding sites and the transcription of genes encoding novel small RNAs. These changes alter virulence gene expression, promote utilization of dietary carbon sources, and delay acetate uptake. We propose that acetylation of CRP K52 engages AR3, thus optimizing V. cholerae fitness in the human intestine.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

Repurposing anti-phage defenses to differentially arrest the viral lifecycle reveals the regulatory logic of a parasitic satellite.

Mobile genetic elements frequently encode defense mechanisms to protect their bacterial hosts from viral attack. In Vibrio cholerae, these defensive elements include phage-inducible chromosomal island-like elements (PLEs), which are phage satellites that act as highly specialized parasites of the lytic phage ICP1. While PLE transcriptional activation upon ICP1 infection is known to be temporally regulated, the underlying regulatory logic and dependencies on the progression of the phage's developmental program required for activation remain unclear. In this study, we took a novel approach to define these dependencies by introducing independent anti-phage defense systems, BREX and DarTG, as molecular roadblocks to impede the ICP1 lifecycle. We discovered that, for both ICP1 and PLE, late-stage gene expression is fundamentally uncoupled from genome replication, representing a striking departure from the standard paradigm for double-stranded DNA phages. While BREX restricts ICP1 to an immediate-early transcriptional state that stalls PLE activation, DarTG allows the phage to execute its full transcriptional cascade despite the total block in DNA replication. This permissive environment provides the necessary cue(s) for complete PLE induction, revealing that robust PLE activation is profoundly dependent on the transcriptional progression of its helper phage.IMPORTANCEBacteria and their viruses (phages) are locked in perpetual evolutionary conflict. Some bacteria harbor phage satellites, specialized parasites that are activated to hijack the phage's components to spread all the while inhibiting viral production. While some satellites respond to a single viral trigger, the regulation of many satellites, including clinically relevant phage-inducible chromosomal island-like elements (PLEs) in Vibrio cholerae, remains poorly understood. Here, we used bacterial defense systems as molecular roadblocks to probe how PLE activation depends on its helper phage. We found that severe disruptions to viral transcription stall PLE activation. Unexpectedly, both the virus and the satellite can execute their full transcriptional programs even when DNA replication is completely blocked, challenging a fundamental paradigm in virology. These insights reveal a sophisticated level of phage-satellite coordination, illustrating how satellite activation is tightly linked to the transcriptional state of its helper phage, a dependency that ultimately drives the dissemination of mobile genetic elements.

Vibrio cholerae↗

PubMed2010

Evidence that the C-terminus of OprM is involved in the assembly of the VceAB-OprM efflux pump.

Although the architecture of tripartite multiple drug resistance (MDR) efflux pumps of Gram-negative bacteria has been well characterized, the means by which the components recognize each other and assemble into a functional pump remains obscure. In this study we present evidence that the C-terminal domain of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa OprM and the alpha-helical hairpin domain of Vibrio cholerae VceA play an important role in the recognition/specificity/recruitment step in the assembly of a functional, VceAB-OprM chimeric efflux pump. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence directly linking the C-terminal domain of an outer membrane efflux protein to its recruitment during the assembly of a tripartite efflux pump.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2024

DciA, the Bacterial Replicative Helicase Loader, Promotes LLPS in the Presence of ssDNA.

The loading of the bacterial replicative helicase DnaB is an essential step for genome replication and depends on the assistance of accessory proteins. Several of these proteins have been identified across the bacterial phyla. DciA is the most common loading protein in bacteria, yet the one whose mechanism is the least understood. We have previously shown that DciA from Vibrio cholerae is composed of a globular domain followed by an unfolded extension and demonstrated its strong affinity for DNA. Here, we characterize the condensates formed by VcDciA upon interaction with a short single-stranded DNA substrate. We demonstrate the fluidity of these condensates using light microscopy and address their network organization through electron microscopy, thereby bridging events to conclude on a liquid-liquid phase separation behavior. Additionally, we observe the recruitment of DnaB in the droplets, concomitant with the release of DciA. We show that the well-known helicase loader DnaC from Escherichia coli is also competent to form these phase-separated condensates in the presence of ssDNA. Our phenomenological data are still preliminary as regards the existence of these condensates in vivo, but open the way for exploring the potential involvement of DciA in the formation of non-membrane compartments within the bacterium to facilitate the assembly of replication players on chromosomal DNA.

DNA, Single-Stranded↗

PubMed2024

The promise of CRISPR-associated transposons for bacterial functional genomics.

CRISPR-associated transposons (CASTs) are naturally occurring amalgamations of CRISPR-Cas machinery and Tn7-like transposons that direct site-specific integration of transposon DNA via programmable guide RNAs. Although the mechanisms of CAST-based transposition have been well studied at the molecular and structural level, CASTs have yet to be broadly applied to bacterial genome engineering and systematic gene phenotyping (i.e. functional genomics) - likely due to their relatively recent discovery. Here, we describe the function and applications of CASTs, focusing on well-characterized systems, including the type I-F CAST from Vibrio cholerae (VcCAST) and type V-K CAST from Scytonema hofmanni (ShCAST). Further, we discuss the potentially transformative impact of targeted transposition on bacterial functional genomics by proposing genome-scale extensions of existing CAST tools.

DNA Transposable Elements↗

PubMed2025

ComFB, a widespread family of c-di-NMP receptor proteins.

Cyclic dimeric-GMP (c-di-GMP) is a ubiquitous bacterial second messenger that regulates a variety of cellular processes, including motility, biofilm formation, secretion, cell cycle progression, and development, and also contributes to the virulence of many bacterial pathogens. While the genes encoding c-di-GMP cyclases and hydrolases are readily identifiable in microbial genomes, known c-di-GMP receptor domains are quite few, with only PilZ and MshEN broadly distributed across bacterial phyla. Recently, a new c-di-GMP receptor, named CdgR or ComFB, has been identified in cyanobacteria and shown to regulate cell size and natural competence. We demonstrated that CdgR proteins exhibit sequence and structural similarity to the Bacillus subtilis late competence development protein ComFB, a conserved protein of unknown function associated with bacterial competence. This prompted us to hypothesize that ComFB and ComFB-like proteins could also serve as c-di-GMP receptors. Here, we comprehensively investigated the ComFB protein family and demonstrated that ComFB proteins are evolutionarily widespread among bacteria and function as a novel family of c-di-GMP receptors. We showed that ComFB proteins from Gram-positive bacteria (B. subtilis, Thermoanaerobacter brockii) and Gram-negative pathogens (Vibrio cholerae, Treponema denticola) bind c-di-GMP with high affinity. Several ComFB proteins also bind cyclic di-adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP), suggesting that ComFB represents a widely distributed bacterial protein family with dual specificity for c-di-GMP and c-di-AMP. Our physiological studies further showed that ComFB plays vital roles in controlling motility in a c-di-GMP-dependent manner in two phylogenetically distant bacteria, B. subtilis and the gram-negative Shewanella oneidensis, attesting to the biological relevance of ComFB as a c-di-GMP binding protein.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed2026

Investigating AHL-associated quorum sensing impact on antibiotic-driven resistome expansion in anaerobic fermentation microbiomes: Metagenomic insights.

Previous studies have demonstrated that quorum sensing (QS) can mitigate the impact of antibiotics on environmental microbial communities. Metagenomic analysis was used to examine AHL effects on the resistome in anaerobic fermentation microbiomes under antibiotic stress in this research. AHLs reduced ARGs, MGEs, and phage abundance compared to antibiotic-only samples following the addition of high concentrations (500 nmol/L) of AHLs. Phages and integrons played pivotal roles in shaping the resistome. Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were key targets affected by AHLs. Both the assembled environmental metagenomes and the complete genomes of isolated bacteria consistently support the broad potential of quorum-sensing systems in mediating the dissemination or regulation of resistome spreading. Quorum sensing systems are very likely to affect microbial community resistomes by regulating the phageome. These insights are valuable for refining fermentation and waste management processes, offering potential in environmental restoration and possibly curbing the spread of resistance genes.

Quorum Sensing↗

PubMed2026

Project ODIN: advancing environmental genomic surveillance for public health across sub-Saharan Africa.

Persistent SARS-CoV-2 transmission, ongoing mpox outbreaks, and the continued spread of endemic diseases such as typhoid fever and cholera underscore the urgent need for global, multiomics surveillance. In this Personal View, we present Project ODIN, a consortium of European and African partners launched in 2023 that aims to meet this challenge by deploying innovative systems for near real-time pathogen detection and actionable public health insights. The project is a collaboration between high-income and low-income countries in northern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Focusing on low-income and middle-income countries, ODIN integrates metagenomics with mobile laboratory systems for comprehensive pathogen monitoring across diverse environments. ODIN emphasises standardised sampling, bioinformatics pipelines, and data-sharing protocols to ensure reliable, interoperable results while addressing infrastructure and resource limitations. By bridging gaps in genomic surveillance, these initiatives seek to strengthen outbreak preparedness, improve pathogen detection, monitor antimicrobial resistance, and provide a holistic approach to One Health challenges. Together, these innovations could advance global surveillance capacity-particularly in under-resourced regions-paving the way for effective disease control and evidence-based policy making.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Isolation, characterization, and antibacterial activity of a novel Pasteurella multocida bacteriophage.

Pasteurella multocida is the main pathogen causing fowl cholera and poses a serious threat to the poultry industry. Current clinical control relies on antibiotics, but the prevalence of drug-resistant strains makes it urgent to develop new antibacterial strategies. In this study, a P. multocida-specific bacteriophage vB_PmuS_ZP41 was isolated and identified as a member of the family Siphoviridae by transmission electron microscopy. This phage showed lytic activity against 13 out of 19 clinical isolates of P. multocida (68.4%) and remained stable at 4-50°C and pH 3-9. The optimal multiplicity of infection was 0.01, with a latent period of 10 min and a burst size of approximately 56 PFU/cell. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that the phage genome is a double-stranded DNA of 38,592 bp, containing no virulence genes or antibiotic resistance genes, indicating good safety. In a chick infection model, phage treatment significantly improved the survival rate of infected chicks from 40% to 80%, significantly reduced bacterial loads in blood, lung, liver, and spleen, and decreased serum levels of TNF-α and IL-1β while alleviating histopathological damage. This study systematically characterized the biological properties of phage vB_PmuS_ZP41 and its antibacterial efficacy both in vitro and in vivo, providing an experimental basis and a candidate strain for the future development of phage therapy against avian pasteurellosis.

Biological characteristics↗

PubMed2026

High-throughput recovery of integron cassettes for gene discovery screens.

Integrons capture functional genes in mobile genetic elements called integron cassettes, which represent an untapped source of genes of biotechnological interest. Here we present two tools, cassette gatherer and cassette hunter, that enable high-throughput establishment of gene libraries either from genetically tractable strains or directly from DNA. We re-engineered a class 1 integron into counterselection markers on a plasmid or on the chromosome of a naturally competent Vibrio cholerae, which enabled capture of single cassettes in a sequence- and function-independent manner. When applied to Vibrio strains and genomic libraries, our tools recovered hundreds of single cassettes per assay with more than 99% specificity. We further subjected the library of cassettes generated by the hunter and gatherer tools to screens against phages ICP2 and T4, and identified nine phage-defence systems, including five previously undescribed. These tools enable rapid and large-scale recovery of integron cassettes that could be leveraged for functional gene discovery.

Journal Article↗