@romihadary.bsky.social and @soreklab.bsky.social 's discovery that sponge proteins constitute enormous families of viral immune evasion factors is now out in @natmicrobiol.nature.com
@reneechang.bsky.social and our lab were happy to help with this story!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our aRES story is finally out 😀
Beyond what was reported in the preprint, we found that aRES is activated by direct binding of the phage DNA polymerase.
Another NAD-degrading defense system — and multiple phage strategies to overcome it.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
(1/6) Thrilled to share this story! In our preprint from my PhD in the @kranzuschlab.bsky.social, with help from the Hatfull lab and @soreklab.bsky.social, we discover RyDEP, a phage-encoded RyR-domain glycosidase that allows phages to evade Thoeris defense. Highlights below! doi.org/10.64898/202...
Amazing piece from @science.org and @richardastone.bsky.social on our field and the growing connection between human and bacterial immunity!
#microsky #virosky #immunosky
www.science.org/content/arti...
A functional screen reveals phage sponge proteins that bind Pycsar, Thoeris and CBASS signalling molecules to inhibit bacterial immunity.
Many bacterial defense systems restrict phage infection by breaking down the molecule nicotinamide (Nam) adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) into adenosine di…
Two major breakthroughs for the nucleotide immune signaling field in pre-print by @romihadary.bsky.social @soreklab.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
(1) Beautiful bioinformatic analyses reveal known viral nucleotide sponges are members of enormous protein families ubiquitous in phages
🧬 Metabolic arms race continues!
We discovered a new NAD⁺-depleting bacterial immune system aRES and phage enzymes that overcome it.
Our preprint is out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
1/8 🚨 New preprint from the @sternberglab.bsky.social & @martinjinek.bsky.social labs! CRISPR-associated transposases (CASTs) insert large DNA cargoes at precise genomic locations — no double-strand breaks needed.
Kranzusch Lab
Like a prophage being awakened from its slumber, the phage field has seen a lot of renewed activity during the last decade. Check out our new @natrevmicro.nature.com review on the temperate phage life cycle here to stay up-to-date 🧫🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Some phages are named after gods or rivers, this one was named by journalist Thilo Mischke @thilomischke.bsky.social after his grandma ("Oma Karin") while filming in our lab.
It's a cool phage that should be temperate but became virulent due to a transposon at its lysogeny control! ⛓️💥💪🏼
Excited to see this online! The structure of the CAST type I holo-complex. Congrats to all involved! By the labs of @martinjinek.bsky.social & @sternberglab.bsky.social.
Many bacterial defense systems restrict phage infection by breaking the molecule NAD+ to its constituents, adenosine diphosphate ribose (ADPR) and nicotinamide (Nam). To counter NAD+ depletion-mediated defense, phages evolved NAD+ reconstitution pathway 1 (NARP1), which uses ADPR and Nam to rebuild NAD+. Here we report a bacterial defense system called aRES, involving RES-domain proteins that degrade NAD+ into Nam and ADPR-1″-phosphate (ADPR-1P). This molecule cannot serve as a substrate for NARP1, so that NAD+ depletion by aRES defends against phages even if they encode NARP1. We further discover that some phages evolved an extended NARP1 pathway capable of overcoming aRES defense. In these phages, the NARP1 operon also includes a specialized phosphatase, which dephosphorylates ADPR-1P to form ADPR, a substrate from which NARP1 then reconstitutes NAD+. Other phages encode inhibitors that directly bind aRES proteins and physically block their active sites. Our study describes new layers in the NAD+-centric arms race between bacteria and phages and highlights the centrality of the NAD+ pool in cellular battles between viruses and their hosts. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. European Research Council, ERC-AdG GA 101018520 Israel Science Foundation, MAPATS grant 2720/22 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SPP 2330, grant 464312965 Minerva Foundation with funding from the Federal German Ministry for Education and Research research grant from Magnus Konow in honor of his mother Olga Konow Rappaport Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption, https://ror.org/05aycsg86 Clore Scholars Program
The life cycle of temperate bacteriophages involves lytic or lysogenic cycles and has historically served as a model for studying genetic regulation. This Review provides an updated overview of these ...
