Résumé:
Filamentous phages are viruses that behave like bacterial symbionts that are an underestimated component of microbiota. They notably improve antibiotic resistance and virulence in human and plant pathogens. Yet, the infection process remains poorly understood at the molecular level, and the dynamic parameters of the process are unknown, as real-time visualization of viral infection was not yet available. In this project, we combined our expertise in the biology of filamentous phages and single cell fluorescent microscopy to decipher the dynamic of the infection process for the fd/E. coli couple. We validated individual fluorescent labeling strategies on the different macromolecular structures involved : the phage capsid, the pilus and the phage DNA and started the monitoring their dynamics during filamentous phage infection at the cell level. We expect these tools to be helpful for structural and biochemical characterization of key infection steps, and to open up prospects for future studies of other filamentous phages associated with pathogens.
Mots clés:
Filamentous phages, infection, dynamics, single cell microscopy