Host-triggered prophage induction drives Lactiplantibacillus plantarum symbiosis through bacterial lysis.

Prophage activation in Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NC8 triggers bacterial lysis and enhances host growth promotion under nutritional stress, with 100% dependence on pp2-mediated lysis.

• Why it matters: Understanding how bacteria communicate with hosts across the gut barrier is limited, especially the role of phage-driven processes in this interaction. Clarifying this mechanism could reveal new insights into microbiome-host symbiosis and nutritional health.
• What they did: The study examined a stress-responsive prophage, pp2, in Lp NC8, showing that its activation causes holin-lysin-mediated bacterial lysis, leading to increased bacterial vesicle recovery and phage production, crucial for promoting juvenile growth in undernourished Drosophila.
• The result: Disruption of pp2-dependent lysis impairs vesicle recovery and host growth, and the copper cell region of the Drosophila midgut acts as a physiological trigger for prophage induction, linking host gut physiology to bacterial lysis and symbiosis.