The bacteriophage transcription factor Gp53 suppresses cell division and regulates Pseudomonas aeruginosa physiology.

The bacteriophage transcription factor Gp53 suppresses Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth, motility, and biofilm formation by regulating key host genes.

• Why it matters: Understanding how phage-encoded proteins influence bacterial physiology can reveal new strategies to combat drug-resistant pathogens like P. aeruginosa.
• What they did: Researchers analyzed Gp53's effects through transcriptomic, DNA-binding, structural, and mutational studies, showing it alters 3,342 genes, including those involved in cell division and virulence.
• The result: Gp53 directly represses genes such as ftsZ, fleQ, pslA, and amrZ, disrupting cell division and virulence pathways, which enhances our knowledge of phage-host interactions and bacterial regulation during infection.