{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"bioRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T16:17:48Z","timestamp":1785428268779,"version":"3.56.0"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]]},"group-title":"Microbiology","reference-count":30,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785110400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/006w34k90","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"National Science Foundation","award":["MCB-2508324"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MCB-2508324"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000057","name":"National Institute of General Medical Sciences","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["F32GM149034"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["F32GM149034"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000057","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>\n                  Vibriophage VP882 launches its lytic cascade upon detection of a quorum-sensing autoinducer produced by its bacterial host. This capability enables the phage to maximize transmission by transitioning from lysogeny to lysis only at high host cell density, when abundant host cells are present to infect. Here, we show that two different pathways can be triggered upon prophage induction. When the prophage is induced via quorum sensing, Qtip, an anti-repressor, inhibits the cI lysogeny maintenance protein, driving expression of the lysis genes. The phage can also launch a cascade that causes host growth arrest. In this case, cI derepresses two genes, one encoding a DksA homolog, TraR\n                  <jats:sub>VP882<\/jats:sub>\n                  , and one encoding a protein that we name QisA. TraR\n                  <jats:sub>VP882<\/jats:sub>\n                  and QisA form a complex that causes host growth arrest, relying on RNAP-binding by TraR\n                  <jats:sub>VP882<\/jats:sub>\n                  . Phage VP882 quorum sensing also activates production of a protein we call QtiQ, which inactivates the QisA-TraR\n                  <jats:sub>VP882<\/jats:sub>\n                  complex, reestablishing host cell growth. Thus, in the presence of QtiQ, the phage lysis program is enacted. To our knowledge, QtiQ is the first protein inactivator of a TraR or DksA-like homolog. By inducing growth arrest, phage VP882 may enable its host to survive under stress-inducing conditions, or the phage may delay host lysis until optimal conditions are met. In both cases, the phage thereby enhances its own prospects for spread.\n                <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.07.27.740977","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T05:25:16Z","timestamp":1785216316000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Phage VP882 possesses quorum-sensing-driven lytic induction and stress-mediated host growth suppression mechanisms"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3537-913X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Grace A.","family":"Beggs","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0043-746X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bonnie L.","family":"Bassler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA"},{"name":"Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"54368","reference":[{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nrmicro.2016.89"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nchembio.2336"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1500203112"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2018.10.059"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-023-06376-y"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgen.1011243"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41579-026-01318-7"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.02483-08"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chom.2020.01.024"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0095222","DOI":"10.1128\/mbio.00952-22","article-title":"Homologs of the Escherichia coli F element protein TraR, including Phage Lambda Orf73, directly reprogram host transcription","volume":"13","year":"2022","journal-title":"mBio"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1704105114"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-micro-090817-062444"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.49375"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgen.1000345"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/JB.02279-14"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chom.2024.03.010"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmb.2006.12.013"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2010.03.036"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molcel.2014.02.005"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/mbio.02320-25"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tim.2023.05.002"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mib.2023.102325"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgen.1004217"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2958.2010.07526.x"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.25","first-page":"e00679","article-title":"Phage protein Gp11 blocks Staphylococcus aureus cell division by inhibiting peptidoglycan biosynthesis","volume":"15","year":"2024","journal-title":"mBio"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"gkag024","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gkag024","article-title":"Bacteriophage deploys a RecA-dependent nuclease to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus replication and promote phage propagation","volume":"54","year":"2026","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Research"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-026-75532-5"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-6750-11-92"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2144\/000114017"},{"key":"2026072906250575000_2026.07.27.740977v1.30","first-page":"e00032","article-title":"Natural transformation in Vibrio parahaemolyticus: a rapid method to create genetic deletions","volume":"200","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Bacteriol"}],"container-title":[],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.64898\/2026.07.27.740977","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T13:25:12Z","timestamp":1785331512000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/biorxiv.org\/lookup\/doi\/10.64898\/2026.07.27.740977"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]]},"references-count":30,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.64898\/2026.07.27.740977","relation":{},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]]},"subtype":"preprint"}}