Beyond AMGs: Phage-encoded transcription and sigma factors as understudied virocell reprogramming tools.

Phage-encoded transcription and sigma factors significantly reprogram bacterial hosts, expanding beyond auxiliary metabolic genes to influence host cellular functions.

• Why it matters: Understanding diverse mechanisms of phage reprogramming is crucial because it reveals how viruses shape microbial ecology and ecosystem processes, filling gaps left by the focus on AMGs.
• What they did: The study reviews genomic evidence and mechanistic insights into host-acting transcription and sigma factors (TSFs) in phages, emphasizing recent bioinformatic and experimental advances involving over 100 identified TSFs.
• The result: Findings position TSFs as key, tractable tools for large-scale metagenomic inference of viral influence, with implications for cellular functions and ecosystem dynamics, enabling translational applications.