Phi3T bacteriophages attacking Bacillus subtilisROTEM SOREK
Bacteria have been defending themselves from phages—viruses that attack bacterial cells—for billions of years, and unlocking the immune mechanisms they use to protect themselves has led to the development of powerful molecular biology tools such as restriction enzymes and CRISPR-Cas9. Now, researchers report in Science today (January 25) that they have discovered 10 more immune systems that bacteria use to protect themselves against phages and plasmids, opening up the possibility to add new tools to the molecular biology toolbox.
“[The researchers] have more than doubled the systems that we knew of that are involved in phage defense,” says Lori Burrows, a professor of biochemistry at McMaster University, Ontario, who was not involved in the study. “It’s quite a feat of bioinformatics.”
Bacteria have many sophisticated ...
