The type VI secretion system of Vibrio cholerae fosters horizontal gene transfer

Abstract

Killing, sex, and gene swaps in bacteria The bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) is used by bacteria to inject toxins into neighboring cells to eliminate competition. This molecular machine is thus considered to be a mechanism by which bacteria can exert social control in complex microbial communities. Borgeaud et al. have discovered that in Vibrio cholerae , T6SS genes are co-regulated with genes involved in DNA uptake. Hence, T6SS-dependent killing of other bacteria is directed at neighboring cells, which release their DNA to be taken up by the killer, which can then integrate valuable genes and rapidly evolve, leading to antibiotic resistance or virulence. Science , this issue p. 63