A phage communication peptide alters Bacillus subtilis colony development and promotes sporulation
- 1Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Abstract
Temperate Bacillus phages use arbitrium peptides to coordinate lysis-lysogeny decisions, but whether the mature communication peptide can be sensed directly by Bacillus subtilis and affect its physiology and behavior is unknown. Here we show that the {varphi}3T arbitrium peptide SAIRGA elicits a sequence- and stereochemistry-dependent response in Bacillus subtilis that is strongly expressed in surface-grown colony biofilms but is not accompanied by comparable changes in planktonic growth or static-liquid pellicle morphology. The response persists in the absence of AimR, the canonical arbitrium receptor. Within colonies, SAIRGA alters spatial PtapA activity and increases heat-resistant spore formation without increasing total viable cell yield. Untargeted metabolomics reveals broad dose-dependent remodeling that tracks peptide activity, while program-level proteomics independently converges on late-sporulation and mature-spore-associated states. This study highlights how a phage-derived peptide may act as a signal, enabling the host to pivot toward a survival-focused developmental state.
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BibTeX
@misc{hagbilazar2026phage,
title = {{A phage communication peptide alters Bacillus subtilis colony development and promotes sporulation}},
author = {B.-E. Hagbi-Lazar and Z. Levi and M. Shema-Mizrachi and R. Suissa and Z. Tik and S. Uzi-Gavrilov and L. Holoidovsky and S. O. Bendori and A. Eldar and M. M. Meijler},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.23.746533},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.23.746533v2},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A phage communication peptide alters Bacillus subtilis colony development and promotes sporulation
AU - B.-E. Hagbi-Lazar
AU - Z. Levi
AU - M. Shema-Mizrachi
AU - R. Suissa
AU - Z. Tik
AU - S. Uzi-Gavrilov
AU - L. Holoidovsky
AU - S. O. Bendori
AU - A. Eldar
AU - M. M. Meijler
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/23
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.23.746533
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.23.746533v2
AB - Temperate Bacillus phages use arbitrium peptides to coordinate lysis-lysogeny decisions, but whether the mature communication peptide can be sensed directly by Bacillus subtilis and affect its physiology and behavior is unknown. Here we show that the {varphi}3T arbitrium peptide SAIRGA elicits a sequence- and stereochemistry-dependent response in Bacillus subtilis that is strongly expressed in surface-grown colony biofilms but is not accompanied by comparable changes in planktonic growth or static-liquid pellicle morphology. The response persists in the absence of AimR, the canonical arbitrium receptor. Within colonies, SAIRGA alters spatial PtapA activity and increases heat-resistant spore formation without increasing total viable cell yield. Untargeted metabolomics reveals broad dose-dependent remodeling that tracks peptide activity, while program-level proteomics independently converges on late-sporulation and mature-spore-associated states. This study highlights how a phage-derived peptide may act as a signal, enabling the host to pivot toward a survival-focused developmental state.
ER -