Temperate bacteriophages shape intraspecies competition during Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection.

Temperate bacteriophages enable Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains to outcompete each other, promoting clonal dominance during infection with 80% of strains exhibiting antagonism.

• Why it matters: Understanding how P. aeruginosa maintains clonal dominance is crucial for managing infections, as intraspecies competition influences disease progression and treatment outcomes.
• What they did: Researchers screened clinical isolates for phage-mediated antagonism, identified strain-specific infective phages, and used genomic and infection models to assess competitive advantages conferred by prophages.
• The result: Acquisition of specific temperate phages provided strains with a competitive edge both in vitro and in vivo, revealing prophages as key ecological tools in shaping microbial populations during infection.