Multi-conflict islands are a widespread trend within Serratia spp

Abstract

Bacteria carry numerous anti-phage systems in defence islands or hotspots. Recent studies have delineated the content and boundaries of these islands in various species, revealing instances of islands that encode additional factors, including antibiotic resistance, stress genes, Type VI Secretion System (T6SS)-dependent effectors, and virulence factors. Our study identifies three defence islands in the Serratia genus with a mixed cargo of anti-phage systems, virulence factors and different types of anti-bacterial modules, revealing a widespread trend of co-accumulation that extends beyond T6SS-dependent effectors to colicins and contact-dependent inhibition systems. We report the identification of four distinct anti-phage system/subtypes, including a previously unreported Toll/IL-1 receptor (TIR)-domain-containing system with population-wide immunity, and two loci co-opting a predicted T6SS-related protein for phage defence. This study enhances our understanding of the protein domains that can be co-opted for phage defence and of the diverse combinations in which known anti-phage proteins can be assembled, resulting in a highly diversified anti-phage arsenal.